Endless Waltz
by Jade MacGrath
Summary: Can a night, a fateful meeting with a blond-haired vampire change your life forever? For eighteen-year-old Bella Black the answer is yes. History has strange ways of repeating itself... future!fic, Jasper/OC, beta'd by emoTWiLiGHT.
1. Angel

Title: Endless Waltz

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer… except the characters you don't recognize.

Summary: Can a night, a fateful meeting with a blond-haired vampire change your life forever? For eighteen-year-old Bella Black the answer is yes… future!fic, Jasper/OC

Rating: T, but it might go up in the future chapters

**Bella Black**

My mother's name was Isabella Marie Swan.

She was a nice woman, with ivory skin and deep, brown eyes. And she died giving birth to me.

I knew the story in detail because my father had been telling me that every birthday since I was four. How the doctors discouraged her from having me, after all the problems she'd had with her first pregnancy. How she stubbornly decided to give me a chance to live no matter what. How she bled to death in the delivery room after I was born. I never had a family birthday party, never had gifts. Just a drunken father and an older brother that looked at me and wondered aloud why I had to be the one to survive that fateful day. My appearance didn't help much. Mom and I didn't share just the same name, I also looked exactly like her. Looking at her photographs, it was like looking at my reflection in a mirror. Same hair, same paleness, same smile. I had nothing in me that could reveal that I was actually half Quileute. The only difference between me and my mother were the eyes. Mine were a deep shade of blue, and probably the most discussed thing in the reservation. Everyone knew my mother married Jacob Black because the love of her life had abandoned her for some unknown reason; my blue eyes just fueled the gossip saying she wasn't just unhappy, but also a cheating wife. The truth was simpler than that: I just had my maternal grandmother's eyes, but I supposed no one would believe me. Renée, that was her name, never approved of my mother's wedding. Renée said my mother was 21, and too young to get married. Her refusal to come and visit my mother grew with time, and she also refused to visit my brother and I.

Grandpa Charlie was great, though. I was his precious little girl, and no one could say or do bad things to me with him in the surroundings. Sometimes I wished I could live with him in Forks, just to stay in the house where my mother had grown up and hear stories about her. No one talked about my mom here. Except for a few photographs, everything that belonged to her had disappeared long ago in some boxes in the attic. It took me some time, but I managed to smuggle a few of her things in my room. Her books, for example (like me, she loved Wuthering Height to pieces). Some of her clothes, and the photo albums of when she was young. Sometimes she's pictured in there with a tall, handsome boy with bronze hair. I bet that was my father's love rival. Ok, if she never married my father I wouldn't be here, but… God. They looked so adorable and in love. What the hell had happened? I couldn't help but wonder, but that question would never have an answer. The only person who could answer had been in a grave for the last seventeen years of my life. Seventeen years, eleven months, three weeks, and six days, to be precise. Just one day, and I would be eighteen, free to go away from my personal hell…

"Bells! Hey, Bells, what are you staring at?"

I woke up from my reverie and smiled. "That wall across the street. It's strangely appealing today."

Dave sighed and sit next to me on the bench. "Another fight with your father, Bella?"

"Dave, you might want to start counting the days when we are not fighting. It would be easier."

"Care to come to dinner at my place? Quil will be there with Claire. And Mom will be delighted to see you. I've heard she's making her famous apple pie…"

I smiled. "My favorite? How could I say no?"

Dave Call was God's personal gift to me. I didn't know how I would've survived high school without him. He was more my older brother than my real older brother. And Kim, his mother, was such a sweetheart. I heard her parents eloped the day after their graduation, and one year later, Dave was already born. I never saw two people more in love with each other, excluding the pictures of my mother and her mysterious boyfriend. And excluding, obviously, Claire and Quil. Claire was just three years older than me, but no one ever said nothing about the huge age difference between her and Quil. Mostly because no one believed he was really almost two decades older than his girlfriend. Cradle robber that he was, I never heard Claire complaining. Lucky her.

"So…" he started, "What are your plans?"

"Packing. I didn't change my mind."

"Bella, please. Are you sure?"

"I have the house I've inherited from my grandfather in Forks. I can find a job there, save money for college… I can make it. And you can come visit! It's not like I'm moving to Europe or something like that."

"I wish you wouldn't do that."

I wished that too. But I never fitted in at the reservation. My blue eyes were in striding contrast with the dark skins and the black and brown eyes of the other people in La Push. The few sunny days we had there in the Olympic Peninsula were lethal for my skin, especially during summer. I had to stay in the house or go around with a huge hat and sunscreen, and sometimes I got burned anyway. Dave joked sometimes that my mother probably conceived me with a vampire, one of the Cold Ones from the legends of our tribe.

"I don't have a choice. The fights are getting worse, and Charlie… well, you know my brother."

"I can't believe they won't try to stop you."

"Because you come from a real, honest-to-God family. Mine is… different."

And not in a good way. My mother's death broke my father, or so I was told. One day he was a happy husband and father, and the next he was a widower with a three-year-old to raise and a daughter he couldn't even hold in his arms. I didn't know why he had named me after her. Maybe he hoped things would get better. Yeah, right. He had fed me, put a roof on my head, but he never really understood me. And my brother was exactly like him.

"Listen, Bells… Why don't let me organize you a nice birthday party? So you can properly say goodbye to all your friends, before moving?"

"Dave, all my friends will be at your house this evening. And you know that."

Big mistake. "Good! We'll celebrate tonight, then!"

Oh God, here we go again… when Dave had that look in his eyes, you had to brace yourself. Anything could happen. Anything. Before I could stop him, he had jumped on his feet to run home to his mother and tell her the news. Well, at least I would spend my last night in La Push laughing instead of moping at my house. It was a good thing. I hoped it was.

Ok, I was wrong. Dave didn't do anything out of the ordinary, except buying me the most beautiful necklace I had ever seen. The stones were the same color of my eyes, and also matched my long sleeved shirt. I wondered if I should take my gift off before going home, but I decided I didn't care.

I had a great time with the Calls, and I congratulated Quil and Claire on their upcoming wedding. Everyone tried to convince me to stay… but I couldn't. I really couldn't. I had been counting the days since my fourteenth birthday. I sighed and went inside my house trying not to make any sounds, but my father heard me anyway. He always did.

"Where have you been, Isabella?"

I was Bella to everyone except him. For obvious reasons.

"Dave invited me to dinner at his house."

"It would've been nice if you'd asked for permission."

"I left you a message on your voicemail. Not my fault if you didn't check it. And for God's sake, it's the Calls we're talking about. They've known me since I was two days old."

He stared at me in silence for a while, drinking his beer – the sixth, if I didn't miscount the empty cans at his feet – and then he asked where the hell I've found that shirt and necklace.

I lied. I told him they were both gifts for my birthday from Dave and Claire. It was only half a lie. The shirt… the shirt was my mother's. We both looked good in blue, I had discovered.

"Your birthday is tomorrow."

"I know."

"I don't feel like celebrating."

When I was little he added always a 'I'm sorry' at the end of that phrase. He stopped saying it around my tenth birthday.

"Don't feel obligated. I'm not a little girl anymore."

I started to go upstairs, but I saw my brother coming down. Charlie was huge. I mean, really huge. And it didn't look like he was 20, but more like he was in his early thirties. He shot me the hostile glare he reserved only for me, and sat near our father to watch the game on TV. They started talking, and I became invisible.

Story of my life.

I finished packing by midnight. I looked at my unadorned room, and I smiled. The next day would be the first day of the rest of my life. I couldn't wait to leave.

And apparently, neither could Charlie. He entered my room, gave a look to the bare walls, and then looked at me with a smug smile.

"I thought I heard some strange noises, sis… What are those bags?"

"Come on, Charlie… use the brain. I've turned 18 ten minutes ago. I can go away from this house and you can't stop me."

"Like I planned to stop you. You wanna go, Isabella? Be my guest. We'll be better off without you."

I had always known Charlie couldn't stand me. But hearing him voice his thoughts like that… I wasn't prepared to feel all that pain inside of me.

"Do you have any idea how it feels like to watch you every moment of every single day? You're here, and she's not. It would've been better for everyone if things had gone differently. And Dad thinks the same as me."

I choked back tears. I would never give Charlie the satisfaction of knowing he hurt me.

"Well, your wish has been granted. I'm leaving."

"My mother was the sweetest person ever. And because of you and your damn eyes everyone thinks she cheated on Dad. You're an insult to her memory. Don't forget to leave the keys on the kitchen counter on your way out."

He closed the door behind him and I finally cried. That was my brother... I couldn't even think of what my father could tell me, but I knew for sure I didn't want to hear it. I left my keys on the kitchen table, and I loaded my bags inside my car. I would have to ask Dave to take my file from school so I could enroll in the high school in Forks and finish my senior year. Thanks to an almost friendless life, I had saved enough money to go ahead with my plans and not to worry about asking anyone for money.

The sky was filled with clouds, and they had that particular color clouds had when it was going to snow. One of the consequences of being born in December. Charlie's cruel words kept ringing in my ears. He suffered. I knew that. But at least he had memories of our mother. I just had photographs. I pressed on the accelerator hard, and drove all the way to Forks to my late Grandpa's house. When he died of a heart attack, I felt like I lost the only family I had. He saw so much of his beloved daughter in me… in his eyes I was perfect. When he realized how unhappy I was, he tried to convince my father to let me stay with him. Jacob had never consented to this. He left me the house and all his money, though. Just in case… His choice made my brother hate me even more, if that was possible.

But when I stepped inside, I suddenly realized I didn't want to be there. I had to go somewhere else.

I left my bags near the stairs, and I jumped in the car again.

I didn't know why, but my mother was buried in the Forks' cemetery instead of the La Push one. By the time I arrived there, the snow was already falling. Thick, white snow that would cover everything in a matter of minutes. I walked slowly to my mother and grandfather's graves, and I knelt before them. I leaned on my mother's grave, imagining she was right there with me, holding me close. I tried not to, but eventually I started to cry again.

"Why don't they love me? Why, Mom?" I whispered between sobs. The temperature was freezing, but I didn't care. I kept crying, hugging myself with my arms. I don't know how long I was there. The snow was falling on the grass, the graves… and me. It was covering everything like a beautiful white blanket. I couldn't help myself, I started watching the snow fall from the sky, and suddenly the cold weather wasn't important anymore… I didn't even feel cold. I just wanted to sleep. Sleep and dream of my mother, like when I was a little girl.

**Jasper Hale**

It was weird to be in Forks again. Carlisle said it was just for a few months, until we could move to Canada again, but I knew better. Carlisle, Esme, Emmett and Rosalie wanted to come back here to mourn Edward and Bella. Last time I saw Bella Swan, she had just turned 18. And I almost killed her because I couldn't control my bloodlust. Edward convinced us to leave for her own good, so that she wouldn't have to risk her life again for something as stupid as a paper cut. Edward never recovered. His heart broke that day. He struggled just to exist, and wait till Bella's death. I still remember the day when Alice told us that she saw Bella's funeral. We tried to stop Edward from going to Volterra again, but he tricked us and left before we could devise a plan. Alice ran after him to stop Edward from committing suicide… but the Volturi killed them both. The family never really recovered in this eighteen years. We couldn't forget the family members we lost. That's why I was there in the cemetery. I wanted to see Bella's grave. I wanted to ask for her forgiveness. Everything had happened because of me. My poor self-control had ruined the lives of too many people…

I looked at the graves and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. A beautiful brown-haired girl was sleeping against one of them, half covered in snow. I stared at her open-mouthed. I couldn't be mistaken. That was Bella. Edward's Bella, the girl I almost killed eighteen years earlier. She looked exactly like the last time I had seen her… For a second I imagined she could be one of us, but I could heard her heart beating and smell her scent. She was human. I got closer, I smelled her again. The scent was not the one I remembered. It was still mouth-watering, but there were a few different notes… she didn't smell just like freesia, but more like rose, and honeysuckle… She definitely wasn't Bella Swan. And 

her smell was even better than Bella's, if that was possible. What was she doing there at night, with that weather? I knelt, touching her face with my hand and turning her face so I could look at her better in the dim light. I widened my eyes. Her lips were blue. I could see trails left by tears on her cheeks. And my God, she was almost as cold as me!

I took her in my arms, rubbing her cold limbs with my hands in an attempt to warm her. Nothing. How long had she been there?

"Wake up! Please, wake up! You must stay awake!"

She barely opened her eyes. Her eyes weren't brown… they were blue. No, that was reductive. Her eyes looked more like sapphires….

"I want to sleep… leave me alone…"

"Like hell. You need to see a doctor, immediately."

She tried to protest, but she was too weak. I took her in my arms and I ran faster than I could at our old house. That girl couldn't die. I already lost too many people. And she looked exactly like her… It couldn't be a coincidence. I hoped Carlisle could help her.

**Bella**

My imagination must have run wild. I could really feel a pair of strong arms engulf me in a strong embrace, and try to warm me up.

"Wake up! Please, wake up! You must stay awake!"

It was a male voice… one I never heard before. I opened my eyes, and I realized what I had done. Way to go, Bella. I realized I was in the arms of a blonde angel, with amazing golden eyes. I had never saw someone more beautiful. And his skin was paler than mine… incredible… I wished I could look better at that beautiful face, but I was too tired. I couldn't stay awake…

"I want to sleep… leave me alone…"

"Like hell. You need to see a doctor, immediately."

And suddenly I was flying. Maybe that was what dying felt like. I rested my head against his shoulder, and closed my eyes. If I really had to die so young and for such a stupid mistake, at least I was being carried away by the most beautiful angel in the sky. And in a matter of minutes, I would see my mother again…


	2. Fever

Chapter two

**Carlisle **

Vampires couldn't cry. In that moment, that was one of our biggest regrets. Maybe, if we could just elaborate the pain, it would be easier to accept the losses in our family. Instead we just had to live, and endure, until the pain would fade. If it would fade.

Coming back hadn't been a great idea, but we all felt the need to go back where everything started. Facing the past was the only way to put it under our backs; the only way to move on. It was incredible how many memories that house had awakened in me. I could see Edward playing at his piano, Alice moving gracefully across the room. The first time Edward invited Bella in this house was clear in my head like it had happened the day before. We weren't sure leaving her was the better choice, but Edward was unable to be convinced. He was afraid to hurt her, but he ended up hurting himself. He had stopped living long before the Volturi killed him. And now I could see the same signs in Jasper. Alice had been a gift for him; now he didn't know what to live for anymore…

I heard the door opening violently, and I immediately ran to see what happened. Esme ran down the stairs as well, along with Emmett and Rosalie. We all stared in shock at Jasper, at the frantic look in his face, and most of all at the barely conscious girl he was carrying in his arms.

"Carlisle, she needs your help. I found her unconscious, half covered in snow... she can't stay awake."

I immediately checked the girl's pulse and felt the icy-cold skin beneath my fingers. The girl chose that moment to turn her head slightly, and I couldn't help to widen my eyes.

"My God… She's…"

"I know. Can you help her?"

I nodded. "Take her to Edward's room. Esme, she will need other clothes…"

Esme nodded, and ran again up the stairs, following Jasper. I asked Emmett to take my medical bag and Rosalie to look for everything that might help to warm that little girl up, and then I ran upstairs as well. Esme had already changed the brown-haired girl into more comfortable clothes and put her in the bed Alice got for Bella, twenty years earlier. Jasper didn't let her out of her sight; he was holding her hand and speaking to her in a soothing voice, stroking her hair and probably using his gift on her. Rosalie walked past me with a bunch of blankets in her arms and I silently thanked God for Esme and her obsession with details when it came to make our houses look real, filling them with everything a normal human family could need. Esme and Rosalie draped the blankets all over that tiny, shaking figure and then they moved back to let me come closer. Emmett was the last to enter, and the last to see the girl's face. Like us, he was puzzled and surprised. She was exactly like Bella, except for those piercing blue eyes I noticed downstairs. I took my bag from Emmett's hands, and I sat on her bed, ready to visit my new patient.

**Bella**

I couldn't stop shivering. My teeth rattled so strongly that I was afraid they would break. And my blood had to have turned into ice. Frozen, like my body… That couldn't be heaven. Hell, maybe? My father, my brother… Were they right to blame me for my mother's death?

In the middle of this, I clearly felt someone trying to take the clothes off me. I fought against the unknown hands, trying to keep them off me. "No... Please, no…"

"Don't be afraid, sweetheart… we just want to help you. You'll get warm sooner without this wet clothes."

Another voice I didn't recognize. Who was she? She started stroking gently my hair, trying to calm me down, but not even her kind, soothing voice could shake off the horrible idea that I was still in hell and nothing good would happen if I stopped fighting.

"Please, let Esme help you. We don't want to hurt you. I promise," said the voice of my angel. Angels couldn't be in hell… Right? I opened slightly my eyes, and I could see my angel looking down at me, worried. I suddenly realized I 

wasn't dead. I was in a huge bed decorated with lots of sculpted metal roses. My blonde angel took my hand and asked me again to calm down. I did it instantly. Whatever he asked of me, I would do it…

I let the woman, Esme, undress me. She changed my clothes at a supernatural speed. I almost didn't notice. When she finished, she put a thick blanket around me and began again to stroke my hair. At least I think it was her. I didn't dare hope it was my blonde angel. I was still shaking, though. My body seemed to have forgotten what it was like to feel warm.

I closed my eyes for an instant, and suddenly I felt more blankets over me. Their weight was comforting. Now I could sense more people in the room beside Esme and my savior. Unfortunately, everything became blurry and I slipped into unconsciousness. But I wasn't scared. Anyone else might feel menaced to be in the hands of strangers, too weak to defend themselves… but I felt strangely safe in that place. It was like I was supposed to be there. Like I belonged with them, or something…

**Jasper**

I watched Carlisle visit 'Bella', as I had started to call her in my head. Even if unconscious, she was still holding my hand, and I didn't try to free myself from her grip. I was afraid she might get upset again. That made Carlisle's work a little more complicated, but he managed to listen to her heartbeat and lungs, and take her temperature. She was slowly regaining some color on her face, and the shaking had almost stopped. I couldn't help but smile. She would make it.

"We have to let her rest now," said Carlisle, after injecting her with some medicine. "You found her just in time, Jasper. A little more time in the woods…"

"I didn't find her in the woods," I replied. "I found her… I found her at the cemetery. She was near Bella's grave."

Emmett gave me a confused look. "You mean that girl might be…?"

"She looks too much like her. It could be possible."

"My God," exclaimed Rosalie. "Do you really think she's Bella's daughter?"

"Alice said something about her dying during childbirth," I whispered, giving the girl a last sad look before removing my hand from hers.

"Poor child," said Esme. "Poor Bella."

'Bella' started moving and moaning in her sleep, and in an instant Carlisle was already at her bedside, touching her face.

"She's hot. I think she might be developing a fever, if not something worse."

"Do you think we should take her to the hospital?"

"N-No…" she whispered. "I don't want to go…"

"Easy, easy… Can you tell me your name?" asked Carlisle.

"B-Bella…"

We all exchanged a look when we heard that name.

"Bella, can you tell me where your parents are? They must be worried sick for you."

"No… please, don't call my father… please…" she said, starting to breathe heavily. I immediately touched her again, and I let a wave of quiet wash over her. Her breath slowed down, and she opened her eyes to look at me.

"I don't want to see him, please… "

She was desperate. Scared. Whoever her father was, he made her suffer. I didn't know why, but these feelings made me desire to hurt him as much he had hurt that girl.

"Ok, Bella. No one will call him. You're safe here."

I smiled, and she smiled faintly at me.

"What's your name?"

"Jasper. And these are Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett."

"Thank you, Jasper…" she said, and she drifted back into sleep. A few hours later, the fever rose and she started talking in her delirium.

**Rosalie**

I couldn't stop watching Bella. What a strange twist of fate… If I didn't know that Bella, the one I knew and never got a chance to appreciate, was dead and buried, I'd say it was her. Except for those eyes… Bella had been nice, but her daughter's eyes were beautiful. I felt slightly jealous of all the attention she was receiving, though. Everyone seemed like mesmerized by that child. I accepted to stay with her when Esme finished her turn to give her a closer look. Since we didn't sleep, we would take turns at her bedside until the fever wouldn't go down.

Bella never stopped talking for a second. Sometimes she muttered intelligible things, but most of the time she was calling for her mother. I couldn't even imagine how growing up without a mother could be. My parents put me on a pedestal; they loved me. I was a little spoiled princess…

"Why Dad doesn't love me, Mom?"

That phrase snapped me out of my reverie and made me feel sorry for her. From what I gathered, she felt rejected and unloved for most of her young life. I was feeling the burning desire to kill that father. A child had no faults. Never.

Jasper knocked lightly on the door, and I got up from the couch to reach him.

"How is she?"

"Still talking nonsense. Except when she's talking about her parents. Do you think she has run away from her house?"

"She looks like she's old enough to take care of herself."

"She looks a kid to me."

"Rose, your time's up. Go to Emmett and tell him she's fine. I'll stay with her."

It was strange. Jasper never showed any interest in females since Alice had died. Tanya and Irina did their best to convince him to find another mate, but he was adamant to stay alone… and now he was dazzled by that young human girl?

History had really strange ways of repeating itself. I shook my head and left the room.

**Jasper Hale**

I sat where my sister was just a few minutes earlier, and I watched Bella's face. She was burning with fever. It was incredible that just a few hours before, she was close to freezing to death. I wet the cloth Esme had put on her forehead during her watch, and wiped away the sweat from her brow.

"You should try to rest," I whispered. "Rest, Bella. Let it go…"

I didn't mean to wake her up; I felt sorry when I saw her opening her eyes.

"I'm thirsty…"

I took the glass of water from the nightstand and I helped her to sit and drink some water. She drank too quickly and she started coughing.

"Easy, easy…" I said, helping her to lie down again.

"Thank you, Jasper," she whispered.

"Do you remember my name?"

"I remember everything."

"You did a stupid thing tonight. Well, last night. It's six in the morning now."

"I'm sorry… You shouldn't have stayed awake for me. Really."

"I was worried. We all were."

"You shouldn't have."

"Bella, what happened last night?"

She lowered her eyes. "I turned eighteen. I moved out of my house. I got depressed and I went crying over my mother's grave."

"Did you try to kill yourself?"

I was dead serious; I didn't expect her to chuckle.

"According to my grandfather, I have inherited from my mother the uncanny ability to harm myself without even trying. I wasn't trying to kill myself…"

I laughed softly, remembering Bella's mother. Edward defined her a danger magnet… Seemed like the apple hadn't fallen too far from the tree.

"… at least, I wasn't last night."

**Bella**

I could see the shock on Jasper's face. Damn fever. I was feeling well enough to talk but not well enough to keep my thoughts under control… That was why I hated being sick. Fever was better than a truth serum in my case. Thank God Dave and Kim were good and trustworthy listeners.

"No one actually believed I tried to kill myself. All the kids in La Push went cliff diving at First Beach every now and then. And then, once I was in the water … I understood how stupid I was. I didn't want to die. I wanted to fight, to 

prove everyone what I was capable of… When they rescued me they assumed I was being just… well, myself. No one ever suspected a thing… no one."

Jasper listened carefully to every word I said, without speaking. I was feeling too dizzy to actually try and read his face. My head felt so heavy… maybe I would give sleep another try. I yawned, and Jasper interpreted that as a signal to leave.

"No…" I said, catching his cold hand. Icy, actually. Or maybe that was just me. "Stay? Until I fall asleep? Please?"

Jasper smiled to me, and sat on my bed.

"Anything you want, Bella."

I was close to tears. I wasn't used to be the object of such attention and care. One tear actually escaped my eyes and left a wet trail on my cheek. I was so embarrassed… but he seemed not to notice. Jasper wiped away my the stray tear with the back of his hand, and I enjoyed once again the coolness of his skin against mine. Maybe too much. I closed my eyes and sighed happily.

The last thing I felt was the wet cloth on my forehead again. I smiled, and felt asleep.


	3. Recovery

Thanks to kagori chan and DarkShadowMuffin for the reviews!

**--**

**Jasper**

I couldn't get out of my head what Bella had just said to me.

Did she really try to kill herself? Why? Again, I wondered what kind of family she had grown up in. How could a parent not realize how unhappy his child was?

I went downstairs where all the others were waiting for me, but I decided not to tell them. Yet. I just told them Bella was asleep and that she was slightly better.

"Good," said Carlisle. "I'll go and check on her in an hour. She'll have to take more medicine."

"I can do it for you," said Esme, eager to take care of a sick child. She would make such a great mother. We were all her children in her eyes… but it wasn't the same. Esme and Rosalie still suffered for their inability to have children, I knew that very well, but Esme's pain was stronger than Rosalie's. Her child had died after just a few days of life, and that was the worse pain a mother could experience.

"Don't worry, Esme… why don't you go and buy some food for her when the stores open? I don't think she'll be able to move from here in the next couple of days. And…"

"And I'll keep my ears open in case I hear something about a missing girl."

They exchanged a smile, and I smiled as well. Completing each other's sentences was not a rare occasion for them.

Carlisle and Esme retired in his office a few minutes later to discuss in private what to do next; Emmett, Rosalie and I were left alone in the living room.

"So," started Rosalie, "What's the plan for us? High school again?"

"Carlisle was talking about finding a job in Seattle for the time being," I replied. "We could find a school there. I don't think it's safe enrolling again in Forks' high school. It has not passed enough time."

"Right. Twenty years…" mused Emmett. "Seems like yesterday to me."

Rose and I didn't reply, but both of us shared Emmett's feeling. We all lost a brother, and I lost a wife. I could still hear her musical laugh, or see in my memories that bright light in her eyes. She had brought hope in my life when I believed hope was dead. She made me feel complete. And then, in a flash, she was gone forever…

"Jasper… why did you go see Bella's grave?"

I snapped out of my reverie and I saw Rosalie looking at me with a curious expression.

"I don't know… I wanted to tell her how sorry I was, I suppose. We left her alone. She didn't deserve this."

"Edward just wanted to protect her," said Emmett.

"Yeah… and what has come out of that noble gesture? He's dead. Alice is dead. Bella is dead. We should've never let him convince us."

"Bella lived her human life and died when her time was up. There is nothing wrong with that… quite the opposite, actually," replied Rosalie, and I sensed the rage growing inside of her. I always knew she envied Bella because of the interest Edward had showed in her… I'd never imagine she would envy her also her death.

"I'm pretty sure she would've loved to raise her daughter, instead of dying."

"Speaking of young Bella… she has a beautiful pair of blue eyes. Don't you think, Jasper?"

"Yeah, I do," I replied neutrally, even though I knew exactly what she really meant.

"You seem pretty taken by her."

"I just did what anyyone else would've done in my place."

"I've seen how you look at her. Careful, Jasper. We've been already through this with Edward."

"Her scent is really… mouthwatering, but she's not my singer. And I don't think of her that way."

"Are you sure?"

Emmett laughed. I sighed.

"Rose, do you have nothing better to do than annoy me today?"

Rosalie grinned. "Not really, no."

"Ok, Rose, time's up. Our luggage won't unpack itself."

"Maybe you could do it for me?"

"Not this time, love. You're going to lift that perfect bottom of yours from the armchair and come 'help' me upstairs," said Emmett, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"If you say so… your wish is my command," said the blonde vampire, getting on her feet and joining Emmett on the stairs. I tried not to roll my eyes. Unpacking the luggage was not exactly what those two had in mind.

"Remember there's a sick girl trying to sleep behind the door next to yours. Behave, you two."

Two suffocated laughers were the only reply I got.

--

**Bella**

I woke up to Carlisle's quiet voice. I promised myself not to develop a crush on the doctor, but it was hard. He was handsome, impossibly charming, nice, and most of all knew how to make painless injections. The doctors I had met before him were all damn butchers compared to Carlisle. He took my temperature again, and said I was lucky I had ended up with just a fever.

"You'll be fine in no time, but until I say so, I don't want you out of this bed. All clear, Bella?"

"Yes, doctor. Thanks… for everything."

"Don't mention it, it's my job. Bella… why don't you tell me more about your family?"

"There is not much to say," I shrugged. "My mother died when I was born, and my father and brother never hid the fact they would've preferred things have gone differently. I left that house the exact moment I turned 18. Last night, that is."

"Sounds a radical choice."

"If I could live with them, I would."

"I'm sure if they knew what happened to you, they…"

"No. Doctor Cullen…"

"Carlisle," he corrected me with a warm smile.

"Carlisle, when I walked out of that door I swore I would never come back. I'm sure they are relieved that they don't have to look at my face anymore. I'm the spitting image of my mom… we have also the same name. Isabella."

"Bella for short?"

I nodded, smiling. He sighed and changed the subject, but I was sure we weren't done discussing that subject yet.

"Listen, Bella. I have to go to Seattle now, but don't worry, Esme and my sons and daughter will take good care of you."

"That's not necessary. I feel better. I don't want to be a nuisance for you and your family…"

"You promised to stay in this bed until I say otherwise. Are you withdrawing your word, young lady?"

I sighed. "No, sir."

"Good," he said, getting up from my bed. "Rest. I'll come see you again when I'm back from Seattle."

I waved him goodbye, and I sank again between my pillows. Staying in bed all day wasn't going to be pretty. At all. I thought sadly about all the books I had in my bags, and in my house. I would've given everything to have them with me right now. The room was beautiful, but the shelves were empty. I sighed, and tried to sleep again, but it was too bright outside right now, and thanks to Carlisle I was already feeling better. It was going to be a very long day…

I heard knocking on the door, and Rosalie entered in my room with – God bless her – a book.

"Hi… good, you're awake, I didn't want to disturb. Do you want some company?"

"God, yes," I exclaimed without thinking. Rosalie laughed.

"I thought so. Do you like Jane Austen?"

I gave her a big smile. Rosalie smiled as well, and sat on the couch. She opened the book and we both lost ourselves into 19th century England. Or at least I did. Rosalie had a wonderful voice. I loved listening to her.

After she read me a couple of chapters from 'Pride and Prejudice', Esme came in my room with a tray full of food. I widened my eyes. There was tea, orange juice, sliced bread, fruit salad, yogurt… I eyed the chocolate croissants as soon as Esme put the tray on my knees, but from the glance Esme threw at me I realized I had to eat the healthy food before the good food. Not a big sacrifice; everything tasted delicious, but I felt full long before I arrived at the croissants. I sighed. There was no chance I could see them again, not with other five people around and probably hungrier than me. Shame.

After breakfast, I enjoyed a nice shower and then I literally begged Esme and Rosalie to let me stay out of the bed for at least a couple of hours.

"Please… I'll go insane if I stay all day in that room. I won't move from the couch downstairs, I promise. Please."

Rosalie looked at Esme, and Esme sighed. I smiled.

"But if I see you without a blanket on or move from that couch…"

"You won't! Thank you Esme!" I smiled, and then I did something really unusual for me: I gave her a big hug. I wasn't exactly an extroverted person… actually, I wasn't extroverted at all. But again, I felt that strong feeling of trust and love towards Rosalie and Esme… I simply couldn't resist. And I could tell it was a surprise for me as it was for her, at least at the beginning. Then I felt her arms encircling me and holding me close, like Kim would do. Like a mother…

A few minutes later, after Esme made me wear her dressing gown, I was on their beautiful couch, with another blanket on my legs, reading the first of a nice pile of books Rosalie had given me. My room was perfect for sleep, it was so silent… but sleep wasn't something I wanted to do at nine in the morning. From my position I could feel them speak and move around the house… that was reassuring somehow. Again, that strange feeling of belonging…

"Hey, kid!" said Emmett, coming down the stairs. "Feeling better? You scared us last night!"

I was slightly peeved by the fact he had referred to me as 'kid', but he had such a contagious smile and laugh that I found impossible not smiling to him as well.

"So I've heard. Jasper told me. I'm so sorry… "

"Well, you're alive and breathing. Who cares about the rest?"

Emmett walked to the couch, lifted my legs and sat, putting back my legs in his lap. Like I was his little sister and not some girl he met just the night before. He looked at me with a serious expression.

"I have an important question for you. Have you ever played Halo?"

Oh, please… I put on my face a big smug smile.

"Emmett… You don't want to do this. I've crushed bigger guys than you at that game."

Namely Dave, his father, Quil, Josh Clearwater and many more. Nobody in La Push messed with me, the uncrowned queen of that game.

"I'll believe it when I'll see it," he said getting up again to set things up for the game.

I was almost sorry for him.

--

**Jasper**

"YOU EVIL WITCH!"

Emmett's loud exclamation startled me. I immediately got up from my chair in the library and I went to the living room to see what the hell was going on. There was no chance Emmett was shouting like that to Rosalie, let alone Esme. It had to be Bella. But the question still stood: why? When Rosalie came looking for me in the library I gave her at least seven different books for Bella to keep her busy; I was sure she was reading them in her room…

I couldn't help but smile. Bella was laughing hysterically, and Emmett looked like a child on the verge of bursting into tears. I could see on the plasma screen the words 'GAME OVER'.

Bella took a couple of deep breath and dried her eyes. "Serves you right, Emmett. I told you I totally ruled at that game!"

"I thought you were overestimating yourself! You're… you're…"

"I am what?"

"You're a girl! Girls don't rule at war games!"

He was like a child whose favorite toy got stolen. Esme and Rosalie joined me, leaning on the doorframe and like me they tried not to start laughing at the scene before us.

"Well, they do when they grew up in a womanless family and have a best friend who loves these games," said Bella, with a smug smile.

Rosalie shook her head, smiling, and walked towards Emmett. Emmett hugged her and Rosalie patted his back to console the giant four-year-old that was her husband. I saw her exchange an amused smile with Bella, and then leave the room on Esme's orders. Her list of things to do was huge, and even if we got to relax after the night spent at Bella's bedside, now our mother didn't want to hear any more excuses. The house had to shine, and possibly before Carlisle's return. Esme watched Bella turn off the TV and go back to the couch and her books, and asked me to keep her company.

"You already have your book, after all," she said with a smile. I looked at my hands. I hadn't realized I left the library with the book I was reading. I wasn't eager to hear Emmett complaining about losing his killing record to a eighteen-year-old human girl, so I nodded and walked to the couch.

"Interesting reading?" I said to her, sitting down in the armchair next to the couch. Bella gave me a big smile and showed me the book she was reading. Wuthering Heights. I couldn't help but smile, remembering he mother and her deep love for that book.

"Good choice."

"And what are you reading?" she asked me. I let her see the book cover. It was Around the World in Eighty Days. Her eyes brightened.

"I love this book! After Wuthering Heights, it's one of my favorites. I love the part when Phileas Fogg and Passepartout save the Indian girl, Aouda. And… well, when Fogg punches Inspector Figg in the face. He deserved it," she admitted, laughing. I laughed too.

"I love these parts as well, plus the journey across the Atlantic. Fogg is always in control of his emotions, no matter how crazy is the situation..."

"A true British gentleman."

Bella looked at her book for a second or two, and then she closed it. She gave me a dubious look and she bit her lip.

"Listen… well… would it bother you if we read that book together?"

The light was gone from her eyes. Her voice, her emotions… it was like she was already expecting a refusal from me. I smiled at her, and said that it wouldn't bother me one bit.

Bella smiled, and the light was back in her eyes and on her face. I realized that was the way I wanted to see her, all the time. But Rosalie was wrong, I didn't look for her company because I was interested in her. I had had a wife that was my soulmate, my exact half… and she was gone. I wouldn't find another one like Alice, and most of all, I wasn't interested in looking for one. Bella was something else. What exactly, I didn't know yet. I enjoyed her company, her smile… but Edward and Bella's story and its tragic epilogue kept on dancing in front of my eyes as a perpetual warning. I wouldn't make the same mistake and fall in love with a human. But a friend… that I could do.

Bella moved on the couch to make room for me, and I sat down next to her. She adjusted her blanket around her while I found the point where Emmett's scream had interrupted me. I started to read to her about Phileas Fogg's bet with the other gentlemen at the Reform club, and Bella leaned her head on my shoulder for a better view of the printed words. I closed my eyes for a second, enjoying her closeness to me and her sweet, floral scent. A few years earlier, such closeness would've already caused Bella's death… I sighed again, chasing away that thought, and I resumed reading for her.

Like Edward said, there was nothing wrong in enjoying the bouquet.

The important thing was resisting the wine.

--

**And don't forget... reviews make a fanfic writer happy : )**


	4. Revelation

**Bella**

It had been two days since the 'snow accident', as Carlisle politely renamed my stupid close-in with death. Two days, and I felt like I had always lived with the Cullens. Esme looked after me like I was one of her children. Emmett and I enjoyed playing with the videogames together like we had known each other for years; he was still trying to find a game that I couldn't play well. When I wasn't with him, I was in Jasper's library, reading alone or with him. Sometimes Carlisle joined us, and we discussed books for hours, or until he decided it was time for me to rest in my bed. And once she had heard of my total ignorance about make-up and girlie stuff, Rosalie declared it would be her mission to introduce me to those things. I thought she was kidding… but that was before we spent three hours in her huge bathroom with every cosmetic and beauty tool known to man.

Needless to say, I had to run away as fast as I could before I couldn't find the strength in me to do it.

But how could I detach from them? For the first time in so long, the thought of my house in Forks – my empty, old, silent house – wasn't a soothing thought anymore. But it didn't change a thing. It was my life, my real life, and I had to go back to it immediately. That was why on my fourth day at the Cullen mansion I decided to go away.

I put on the new clothes Esme insisted to buy me as a late birthday present, took a deep breath and repeated the speech I intended to make to the Cullens a couple of times in front of the mirror. It was polite, nice… I would tell them how lucky I had been to find Jasper, and to be so warmly welcomed into the family, but that now I really had to go home. I had to enroll into my new school, find a job, start building a new life from scratch… and I had to begin, sooner or later.

But when I went downstairs and gathered all the Cullens in the living room, my heart started beating faster. I can do it, I repeated to myself. Ten minutes, and I would be off to my solitary existence. Ten minutes…

"Well… I wanted to thank you for… for everything you've done to me."

Oh God. I could feel tears fighting to come out of my eyes.

"You made me feel like I… like I was…"

Too late. I could feel the first tear rolling down my cheek, followed closely by a second and a third. Before I started sobbing, I murmured 'I'm sorry' and I ran away from there. I didn't go to my room or any other place I already knew. I wanted to stay alone until I could calm down some. Being cuddled by Esme wasn't exactly what I needed right now.

**Carlisle**

When she asked us to gather in the living room, I already imagined what could be the reason why Bella wanted to speak to us. But like the others, I hoped to be wrong. I knew it was wrong to get close to humans, and especially that human girl, but her presence in our house healed our spirits as much as my medicines healed her body. I was sad to see her go. With the corner of my eye, I watched Esme during Bella's speech. She was trying to keep her smile on her face, but I knew what she was feeling. She would lose one of her children again. Everyone here knew that Bella would just go living in Forks and not across the country, but she wouldn't be here in our house anymore, shielding us from our ghosts…

I saw her tears, and I realized we weren't the only ones to have a hard time letting go. But when Bella ran away, I had to stop Esme, who was ready to go after her and console Bella. I silently shook my head, and Esme understood, lowering her eyes. I gave her twenty minutes, and then I decided to go looking for her. But she wasn't in the library, or in her room, or in any of the other places she knew in the house. I slowly started checking the empty rooms in my house, until I had only one left. My office.

I slowly opened the door, looking for Bella, and I saw her sitting on the floor with her back against the wall. She still had her cheeks wet with tears, and she looked at the void with her arms embracing tightly her knees.

I closed the door behind me, and walked to Bella, kneeling in front of her.

"Bella…"

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to… Usually I'm more stable than this."

She couldn't bring herself to meet my eyes. I put a finger under her chin, and she finally started to look at me.

"I don't wanna go, but I have to. I don't want to depend on others, even if it's you. I can't afford myself to get attached to someone and then lose them."

I tried not to look surprised. It was a speech I, as a vampire, could've said. But I could understand what Bella meant. She had just left a painful family situation behind her, and all of sudden she was inside another family that was the opposite of hers without having the chance to live alone for a while and figure things out about herself and what to do next.

"Listen… Now I want you to get up from the floor and wash your face. Then we go back to the living room, so you can say a proper goodbye to everyone. I'm sure Esme and Rosalie would love to help you pack your things. And then I'll drive you to your home in Forks. What do you think?"

Bella gave me a little smile. "I think it's a good plan."

* * *

**Bella**

Carlisle never left my side. I felt incredibly grateful for that. With his silent support, I managed to express my gratefulness to Esme, Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie for what they did for me without bursting into tears again. Esme gently took my face into her hands and kissed my forehead, wishing me luck for school and pretty much everything. Rosalie promised to take me shopping with her the following week (I tried not to cringe; I was still new to those girlie things… I had been raised by a single man after all), and Emmett, faking anger, told me that the next time we would play Halo he would wipe the floor with me. Jasper and I just shared a smile and the promise to exchange reading advice the next time we would meet. It was geeky, but Jasper was the best reading partner ever. And maybe I was a little infatuated… but what was I supposed to do? He was nice, good-looking, he had that charming accent of his, and most of all he had saved my life… But Hell would freeze before a guy like that found me remotely attractive. I simply wasn't the girl the guys wanted to date. I accepted that long ago. And I never actually cared… I had Dave, after all. If only we hadn't known each other from the cradle…

Carlisle took me home with his awesome car, a dark, shiny Mercedes. We didn't talk much; he just reminded me that if I needed help, or I felt alone, their door was open for me, for as long as I wanted them to be a part of my life. There was something weird in his eyes when he said this: like he was really sorry to let me go. Again, I was missing some pieces of the puzzle. Story of my life. Sort of. In La Push, too, I felt like everyone, especially my father and his closest friends – Embry, Quil, Leah, Seth, and especially Sam Uley – were keeping something from me. Something big…

Well, it wasn't a concern of mine anymore.

Carlisle took my bag inside my house, and I looked at the bags I had left near the stairs the night I met Jasper and the Cullens. Four days… it seemed longer than that to me.

"Do you need help with these?" Carlisle asked me. I said no, I didn't need help. I took him to the door, thanking him again for healing me and everything, and I watched the Mercedes disappear from my sight.

I closed the door behind me, and I sighed. Then I suddenly turned my head towards the living room. For a second I believed there was something, someone in there… I closed my eyes and banged my head against the door a couple of times.

"There's nothing there, there's nothing there, there's nothing there…" I repeated every time my head hit the wooden surface.

When I told the doctors I had started to see things that weren't there – shadows, flashes of light, and only at the corner of my eyes – after my jump from the cliff, they just assumed I hit my head when I was in the water. They also said it would go away eventually, but… well, it didn't. Strange as it sounded, I was quite used to it by now, but it didn't mean I had stopped considering myself some weird freak of nature.

I sighed again, and took my bags upstairs. After an hour or so, I took my car and went to the school to enroll myself… only to discover that Dave already did it for me. I mentally bashed myself. Dave! How could I have forgotten to call him? I immediately searched for my phone in the purse and dialed his number.

"About time! Where the hell have you been? I was worried sick!" he shouted.

"I'm sorry, I fell ill. I was in no condition to make a call," I replied. That, and I feared my father could storm inside the Cullen residence and take me away.

"You okay?"

"I am now."

"Charlie fell ill as well. High fever, or so my father told me. He healed, though, but… Bells, he looks weird."

"Weird?"

"The same kind of weird everyone is during the nights around the fire."

I'd never met someone who took legends more seriously than the Quileutes. Sam was a good storyteller, but every time I had that feeling that I was missing something about the story, a hidden meaning comprehensible only to the adults.

"Nice, another one joined Sam's secret society."

"My father keeps telling me it's nothing to worry about, but he looked worried. I overheard him talking with Sam about someone that returned in the area… someone dangerous."

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Whoever this someone is, your dad is not happy at all either. Bells, he is very worried about you. He didn't expect you to run away in the middle of the night like that. I think he never realized how bad it was for you."

"Well, now he knows."

"Listen, may I count you in for my birthday party?"

"You don't need to ask."

"Just checking."

"But I don't want to see them."

"I'll do my best, but no promises. They'll find out you're coming, even if I keep my mouth shut."

I sighed and said I would come anyway. Dave was my best friend, we had always blown the candles on our birthday cakes together. The fact I wasn't living at the reservation anymore or the bad relationship with my father weren't going to change this.

When I came home I saw once again Carlisle's Mercedes parked near my house. I was wondering what was he doing there again, when I saw Esme waiting for me near the car. I smiled instantly.

"Esme, hi! Did I forget something at your house?"

"No… I was just curious to see your house and how you were doing."

"We saw each other this morning…"

"Exactly. Many hours ago. Too much if you ask me, " she said with another smile. I couldn't help but laugh. I knew exactly what she meant.

I made her enter inside, and she surprised me with three bags of food from the local supermarket.

"I just wanted to make sure you would eat properly for a few days… until you're done with the meds Carlisle gave you."

I eyed the contents of the bags. With the amount of food in the bags, I could eat for a month at least. I hugged Esme and thanked her. Esme shrugged, saying it was no big deal, and asked me to show her the house.

**Esme**

"Well, there isn't much to see," Bella said, showing me the living room. I tried not to look at the old furniture, the water-stained walls, but renovating houses was my passion… I couldn't help myself. I mentally started to take notes of what I would need and how long it would take. Someone up there decided to send this girl to me and my family; I would do anything in my power to simplify her life. Carlisle also asked me to make her talk about her family, if I could. The fact that she hadn't said a thing or called anyone while she was with us was something that worried him just as much as it worried me.

"Upstairs there are two bedrooms and the bathroom. Want to see them too?"

Bella had to repeat that question to me twice. Over the mantel I could see a picture of Bella and Edward. They looked slightly embarrassed and in a rigid pose; I guessed Charlie, Bella's father, was the one behind the camera. I looked at my lost son, and the wound in my soul reopened. I knew it would never heal, no matter how much time would pass.

"I'd love to, my dear."

That way I would see if the rooms needed a makeover as well as the living room. The room Bella chose for herself was the one previously occupied by her grandfather. It was old, dark… I couldn't see Bella there. At all. I could see her in her room in my house, though, in her big rose-framed bed. It was incredible how fast I got attached to that human girl…

She hesitated a little before opening the door of the second bedroom. My throat tightened. That had to be her mother's room.

"I know this one is more of a girl's room than my grandfather's, but… but I can't. I simply can't. Even when I came visiting I always slept on the couch…"

I walked in. Everything was covered in dust. Nothing had been moved… the clothes Bella left in her wardrobe, the books she chose to leave behind. I was glad I couldn't cry, or it would be difficult to explain my behavior to Bella. But it didn't change what I was feeling inside. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Maybe you could use the same colors in your room," I suggested in a cheerful tone, changing topic. "I would be happy to help you."

"I don't think I'll have the time, or the money, anytime soon. Thanks for the offer, anyway."

We went downstairs again, and I couldn't resist… I went to see again the pictures of Edward and Bella I had eyed earlier. Bella explained to me who she thought the handsome boy was, and also told me that she found a CD along with the photos, with the most beautiful music inside. I was sure Edward had taken everything away from Bella, in his stupid attempt to help her forget him… but this child didn't know the painful story behind it. She just assumed it was a gift from her mother's mysterious boyfriend.

"One of the first tracks is so slow and sweet. It's my favorite. It always calm me down…"

I had my back turned so I couldn't see what Bella was doing… then I heard Edward's music filling the air. It was the lullaby Edward wrote for Bella's mother. I'd never thought I would hear it again.

"You're right, sweetheart. It's so beautiful."

"My father didn't think so. When he heard those songs he… I never saw him so angry. He shouted that I didn't have to listen to that music and he took it away from me. I managed to get back the CD only by chance, and after that I never listened to it without my earphones on."

I frowned. Such reaction could mean Bella's father knew Edward. I wondered who he might be. Edward had told me Bella had many suitors at school – Mike Newton and Eric Yorkie, to name a few – and all of them hated Edward because he was her boyfriend. But I couldn't imagine one of those boys reacting in such a violent manner for a thing like that.

"Tomorrow I'll go back at the reservation. It's my friend Dave's birthday, I can't miss it. I just hope not to run into my father. I don't want to fight."

Reservation?

"You mean La Push? You're a Quileute?"

No. I refused to accept it. Bella couldn't be a werewolf, an enemy of me and my family. It simply couldn't be.

"Half a Quileute, to be precise. But I suppose that being a Black makes up for the non-Native American traits in my DNA. My father's voice is very important in the Council."

Bella smiled; she didn't even suspect the gravity of what she had just said to me. If her name really was Bella Black, there was a real strong chance she could be a descendant of Ephraim Black, the werewolf Carlisle brokered the treaty with so many years before. The irony in this… of all people that Bella could have tied to after our departure, she chose to marry one of our sworn enemies. I didn't think she knew at first, but it was a secret that couldn't be kept hidden for long in a marriage… how had Bella coped with such discovery? Did they accept her previous relationship with a vampire?

I felt horrible to leave Bella like that, but I had to run to Carlisle and the others and tell them what I had discovered. It didn't change a thing for me, though. Bella had touched my heart since the first moment I saw her. I didn't care what she was.

But would the others think the same as me?


	5. Truth

**Thanks to everyone that has reviewed the fic up to now! **

**Esme**

When I came home, I wasn't sure what to tell my family. They were all looking at me and wondering why I had to talk to all of them with such urgency. When I explained what Bella told me, I saw the shock on their faces. It was hard to accept it. They asked me if I was sure of what I had heard. Unfortunately, I was.

After I finished talking, no one spoke for a while. Like me, they weren't expecting this.

"The safest thing to do would be to break any relationship with her," said Jasper, without raising his eyes from the floor. "We could endanger the treaty."

My Jasper, always the soldier. And yet, I knew how much he cared for that girl. He was just trying to keep everyone out of harm's way.

"The safest thing," I replied. "Not the best."

Carlisle looked at me.

"We might not have a choice. Bella clearly doesn't know about her heritage, or us. But we must be prepared."

Prepared to face her hate. Prepared to see her between our enemies. Prepared to leave her behind like we did with her mother…

"But there's still a chance she might not be a werewolf. Until we are sure of that, I suggest we act like nothing happened."

"But it's not like that," said Rosalie. "Something has happened, and we can't ignore it, Esme, just because you got attached to that child. Don't get me wrong… I like Bella. A lot. But I love you all more. If I had to choose, I wouldn't have doubts."

Carlisle sighed.

"I agree with Rosalie, the safety of the family must come first. But… we have to be sure if Bella is a werewolf or not before acting, or leaving. We made a mistake with her mother. I don't want to make the same mistake with her child."

We all agreed to stay and wait for a while. As long as we stayed in our territory, the Quileute couldn't attack us. But I kept wondering what could happen if the werewolves discovered our family's friendship with Bella. Nothing good would come out of that, for us and especially for her. A Quileute couldn't be on friendly terms with vampires. For them, it was inconceivable.

I was worried sick, and for a moment I was close to refusing to leave and go hunting with the rest of the family. Carlisle convinced me it was the best thing to do. Staying away for a few days would help us see things more clearly. I hoped he was right, but I couldn't stop worrying about Bella. It was like I was leaving a family member behind. It was the exact same feeling I felt when we left Forks without her mother twenty years earlier.

* * *

**Bella**

I had to go to school, but I didn't feel like going. For the first time, I was in a place where I could fit among the others… but again, that feeling of uneasiness that lived in me during all the years spent at the reservation didn't leave me. Forks wasn't the place for me either. I wondered if I would ever find a place where I could feel like I belonged.

I spent the day searching for a gift for Dave, but I had no ideas. I had originally thought about burning him the CD with that wonderful piano music, but it didn't seem like enough to me… After my unsuccessful shopping trip, though, I had to cave in and stick to my plan. I would make him forgive me for my poor gift in the following days.

The next day passed in a blur. I almost didn't realize it was time to head to the Calls' until… well, it was time to head at the Calls'. Again, I didn't go to school. I stayed in my house, watching the walls. I don't think I had moved from my armchair in the living room till I left for La Push. Nothing was like I had planned. Until I met the Cullens, I never questioned my ability to live on my own… Now I was craving for some company. For their company, specifically. But since I still wanted to try to not get too attached to them, I decided I would look for the company of my old friends in La Push.

I was nervous, though. This would be the first time I went to La Push since my midnight getaway, and I was sure everyone already knew that story in detail. I wasn't even annoyed. My life had been a discussion topic since day one, I was used to it by now. In the few days of living in my new house, I came to realize one thing, that maybe the biggest mystery in the reservation – my blue eyes – didn't have the simple explanation I had always thought. I had taken a closer look at all my Grandma's photos, and… well… they weren't the same. The color was different. Mine were 

clearer and brighter. I still didn't believe my mother had cheated on Dad, though. There had to be an explanation, or another relative I didn't know of with these eyes. Anything was better than Dave's other theory.

"Maybe you're not a Cold One after all. Maybe you're Quetit!" he had said, laughing.

Yeah, right… Quetit was the name of a Quileute medicine woman. The legend said that she lost herself in the forest when she was a young girl, and that she was attacked by a bear. When the search party found her, she was close to death. The father, a Quileute warrior, begged the forest spirits to save her, and they granted him that wish, taking the girl with them to restore her health, but when the father went back in the forest to bring his daughter home, he saw that her appearance had changed. Her eyes were blue and, as a consequence of her near-death experience and of having lived with the spirits for a while, she had the gift of seeing the spirits of the forest and the souls of the dead men and women of the tribe. She became an healer and a woman of power in the tribe, but she longed for the silence and the quietness of the forest. One day she left her people to go back to live with the spirits, and no one ever saw her again.

Everyone knew the werewolf legends, but few knew about her. I loved this legend. Quetit was different, still she had cut a place for herself in the tribe. If only I had been able to do the same…

"Bella."

I stopped dead in the middle of the street, near my car, but I didn't turn. Sam Uley reached me and put himself in front of me. He wasn't the head of the tribe, but everyone respected him like he was. Another one of the strange things that happened in La Push.

"Sam. How are you?"

"Your father is very upset with your behavior. Why did you go away like that?"

I hated talking with Sam. His quiet voice always made me feel guilty, even if I hadn't done anything wrong.

"Because I couldn't take it anymore. Because I was tired to be the only fair-skinned Quileute around. Because I was tired of being reminded everyday of the circumstances of my birth. Pick one."

"Jacob never intended to hurt you. You, on the other hand, hurt him on purpose."

"Do you want me to say I'm sorry? I'm not."

"I'm just trying to reason with you. Come back and try to find a common ground with your father and brother. They are willing to talk."

"Really?" I said with lot of sarcasm. "Did Charlie tell you what he said to me the night I went away?"

"He did. He's sorry for that."

Charlie was sorry? In which parallel universe?

"Give them a chance to make things up with you, Bella. Please."

Sam was sincere; I could feel it. But there was something else. The uncrowned head of the tribe wouldn't speak like that unless he had a very good reason. And I wondered if…

"Does this sudden interest in me and in my return to the reservation have something to do with a certain someone that has returned in the area? Someone not really loved by the people in La Push?"

In my entire my life I had never seen anything shock or scare Sam Uley… until this night. Sam took me by the shoulders and looked me straight in the eyes.

"Bella, I don't know how you know or where you've heard this thing. And I don't care. All I care… all we care… is to know you're safe here in the reservation. You can stay with the Calls if you don't want to go back to live with your family yet. Just… come home, Bella. Forks is not safe for you."

"Forks is not safe? What the hell are you talking about?"

"You have to trust me on this."

"No. Enough with the secrets. If you can't give me a valid reason, I won't come back."

"Your family is not good enough a reason for you?"

I sighed and lowered my eyes for an instant. "As of this moment… no, it isn't."

Especially after meeting the Cullens, that had made me realize what a real family was like.

"I hope you'll change your mind. I'm not exaggerating about the risks."

"And yet you can't tell me what it's all about. I've been taking care of myself since I was a child, Sam, no need to be scared. I can defend myself."

For a moment I thought he was going to tell me everything, but he changed his mind when we heard the Call's front door opening. Kim, on the doorstep, was calling for me. She waved to Sam, and Sam waved back with a smile.

"Have fun at Dave's party. And please, consider my words. Good evening, Bella," he said, walking away. I watched him go, and then I went inside. I went early because I wanted to help Kim, and because Dave and I had our traditions to honor. Every year, we wrote a list of things we would do before his next birthday, and then we read it a year later to see if we managed to fulfill our wishes. We laughed and groaned for a while, reading what we hoped to achieve last year, and then he took a notebook and a pen to write the new list.

"So, Isabella… what are you going to accomplish this year?"

"Graduate. Move away to college, or find a job near a college. Discover what this big secret that everybody knows and nobody talks about in La Push is."

"This one has been in our list for years, and it's still without an answer."

"What can I say? I feel lucky. This year will be a good year. You?"

"Strange as it sounds… I'm happy with my life as it is. No desires. I'm perfectly happy with Julie… and that reminds me…" he said, taking a small box from a drawer. He opened it for me, and I saw it contained an engagement ring.

"It's my mother's. What do you think?"

"That Julie wouldn't like to see that ring on my finger. Thanks anyway, it's the thought that counts."

"Haha, so funny, Bella. I think it's the moment. I'll propose next week. Do you think Quil will have something to say about it?"

"He loves you. He'll be happy to have you as his son-in-law."

I couldn't believe that Dave was really thinking about getting married. But he was right… everyone had to move on with their lives. And that didn't mean I would stop being his friend. Just… he had found someone to love. And that was another of the things I envied him for.

"Ok, changing topic now… I ran into Sam Uley today. He said my father and Charlie want me to come home. And that Forks is not safe for me… Have you heard something else about this mysterious enemy of the tribe? 'Cause Sam looked really worried."

"Sam had to go at your father's and calm him down. Whoever this someone is, he must have done something bad to Jacob. He was beyond rage. And…"

"And what?"

"He screamed 'He won't have her!'. It was scary. And I think 'her' might refer to you."

"Even if I went asking Sam and my father, they would deny such thing has ever happened. Do you know why I love living on my own? No secrets. Not even one. It's like paradise. Oh, by the way, here's your present," and I took out of my purse a burned CD.

"I made a copy of the CD I've found in my mother's stuff. You seemed to like it a lot. Sorry. No better ideas."

"You did good, I love this one. I wish I could play like this guy... Alas, it wasn't my destiny."

Another one of La Push's best kept secrets was that Dave could play the piano. He was terrified to be marked as a loser when we were in high school, so we said that it was me and Kim the ones to take music lessons twice a week. Thank God no one ever asked me to play.

We went downstairs when we heard the others had arrived. Kim asked me to come in the basement to help her with something… and all of sudden I found myself facing my father. Oh God.

"I'll leave you alone now," Kim said, going out and closing the door behind her. Perfect… I was trapped in a basement with my father. Did I anger the gods or something?

We stared at each other in silence for a while, and then my father started to speak.

"Of all things you could've done, you went straight for the one that would cause more pain to the family. I hope you realize this."

"Wow, Dad. Sam coached you well," I replied. That wasn't a speech Jacob Black would made. Same Uley, on the other hand, was a real expert.

"Can you imagine how I felt when I woke up and didn't find you? Or when your brother told me how you left in the middle of the night?"

"And the words he said to me, did he tell them to you? Did he tell you he didn't even try and stop me?"

"Charlie learned his lesson. Sam and I made sure of that. Come home, Bella" he said, and I could hear the effort in pronouncing that name, "We can make things better."

"Better? You can't make things better. There is nothing to improve to begin with! Do you wanna know why I left? Because I was tired of you and Charlie looking at me like I was some kind of mistake! Because I have the right to feel happy and loved! Because everyone here looks at me like I'm some kind of freak of nature!"

"It's not true. No one thinks that of you. And we love you. We are your family."

When he said that word, I had a flash of Esme and Carlisle and their adopted children. My heart ached to be so far from them… but it was for my own good. I had to remember that.

"A family that never celebrated my birthday? That was happy to see me spend all the afternoons at someone else's house? That never talked to me about my mother?"

"It's a painful subject."

"At least you knew her! Do you think it's painful only for you? Have you ever considered how painful is it for me? I have nothing left of her but some books and photographs!"

Tears of pain and rage filled my eyes and wet my cheeks.

"You think I hurt you? I merely made things even! I'm sorry to be the cause why you lost your wife, and I know everyone wishes it was me six feet under and not her, but you can't hold it against me every single day of my life like you did in the last eighteen years!"

I ran out of the basement without waiting for an answer and then upstairs. Without thinking, I went in Dave's bedroom and I threw myself on his bed, crying. Dave arrived a couple of minutes later, and he silently sat on the bed, waiting for me to calm down.

"Bells, I'm so sorry. I had no idea…"

I dried my eyes. I didn't need a mirror to know they were swollen and red.

"I'm the one that has to be sorry. I ruined your birthday."

Dave shrugged. "No you didn't. And no one saw you run here. It's safe. Stay as much as you want…"

"I just think I've lost my appetite."

"What about some birthday cake, then?"

Dave was really a gift from the gods. I nodded, but I told him I would kill him if he dared cut his cake before the end of the dinner. He rolled his eyes and disappeared downstairs. I laid back on his bed in fetal position and listened to the noises of the dinner party. After a while I heard a light knocking at the door and I saw Kim enter the room with a tray of food. She looked terribly sorry.

"Bella, I… I just wanted to help. Embry… everyone was sure that you and your father just needed to talk…"

"And we talked. I'm sorry for the shouting… I didn't think about where I was."

"It's okay. The music covered the voices. Are you hungry now? I brought you something…"

I wasn't hungry, but I took a slice of bread from the tray anyway and put it in my mouth, so Kim would stop worrying. At least about that.

"Listen… it's the last favor I'll ever do for my husband and his friends, but they asked me to give you this," and she gave me a book. I recognized the cover; it was the book of Quileute legends that Emily Uley put together during the first years of marriage.

"They said you might find the answers you need in here."

I would beg to differ, but I took the book anyway. From inside of it slipped out a closed envelope. I froze when I realized it was for me… and that the writing on the envelope belonged to my mother.

"She wrote this letter a few days before she gave birth to you," Kim explained. "She gave it to me… just in case… with the order to gave it to you only after your eighteenth birthday."

I was close to bursting into tears again, but this time for different reasons.

"Thanks, Kim," I whispered.

"Listen… we'll cut the cake in half an hour. If you feel like coming down, I'm sure Dave will be delighted to see you."

I nodded. Kim got up from the bed and left me alone, giving me time to eat something and maybe read my mother's letter. I felt sorry for her, but I ignored the food and went straight for the letter. I was curious to see what my mother wanted to tell me… but inside the envelope there wasn't a letter. There was a map, with a trekking path highlighted in red; on the back, my mother had written some instructions for me. Apparently, I had to unearth something at the end of my trip in the woods.

Ok. Definitely I wasn't expecting this. What was my mother trying to tell me? I put the book and the map in my purse, and made an effort to eat something to please Kim. I decided to go downstairs, to celebrate Dave's birthday and to blow the candles on his cake together. Ten minutes after that, I faked an headache and headed home. My plan was to sleep and get ready for my excursion, but I was too excited for sleep. I packed my backpack with all the things I might need (plus a little shovel, reminiscing about the days when Grandpa had decided to try gardening as an hobby), I checked the itinerary again… and then I sat in the living room, waiting for sunrise.

I had to drive for a while; the closer I got, the more excited I was. I have no idea what my mother hid there. What secrets did she keep from my father? And why did she wanted me to know, why now?

I checked the path again once I got out of the car. It would be a long walk, but I was a good trekker… even if I ended up hurting myself one way or another on the way back. This time I was alone, so I had to be extra careful. I clutched the compass in my hand, and I started walking. I didn't know how long it took me to arrive at that meadow, but it wasn't early morning anymore. The sun was shining brightly on my head, but it wasn't enough to warm the air. I wasn't cold, though, thanks to the long walk. I checked the instructions for the position of the thing I had to find, and headed straight for a pyramid of small rocks near the trees. I patiently took away the rocks, and I started digging in the soil. After a few minutes, the shovel hit something metallic, and after I had dug around the metal box some more I was able to take it in my hands.

I took a deep breath, and I opened the box.

It contained a diary. A diary addressed to me. I didn't know how I resisted till I was home again to read it… but I did it. I checked the length: it was huge. Mom had many things to say to me. I felt somehow pleased… I prepared myself a nice cup of coffee, and I sat at the kitchen table, ready to read my mother's memoir.

The beginning of the story coincided with my mother's arrival in Forks. Nothing weird in there… the weird part started when I read the name of the bronze-haired guy that had been her boyfriend. Edward Cullen. I kept on reading, and the weird things kept on augmenting. She mentioned all his family members by name:

Esme, Carlisle, Emmett, Rosalie, Alice and Jasper. How was that possible? I met those people! They were too young to have been my mother's schoolmates! I kept telling myself that was one hell of a coincidence… until my mother told me the most incredible of things.

They were vampires. Vegetarian vampires, that didn't drink human blood. I had noticed their golden eyes, their white skins… but I would've never thought a thing like that. Vampires?

I kept on reading. She described her close-in with death because a vampire named James got obsessed with her and how Edward saved her, her eighteenth birthday, her paper cut accident, Jasper's attack. The paper was stained with tears where my mother wrote about Edward's decision to leave her. I was crying too. Poor Mom, she had loved him so much… I couldn't even imagine how much pain she had felt in that moment of her life.

In the following pages she wrote of her depression, and how Jacob helped her to heal her spirit after Edward's abandonment. And there, another shock was waiting for me: my father was a werewolf. The old Quileute legends were all true. She also included all the names of the pack… all the names she cited were the names of Sam and Jacob's closest friends, including Dave's father. My God. So, not only the Cullens were good vampires… my people were werewolves. And the werewolves were the natural enemies of the Cold Ones, as they were referred to in our legends…

Suddenly I couldn't breathe. No. No, I refused to accept it. I couldn't be a werewolf. I couldn't be an enemy of Jasper's family. It was too cruel. God couldn't be so evil to deny me the only family I wanted to be a part of!

I got up from the chair, and headed outside. I needed some fresh air. I tried to recall all the things I knew about the Quileute werewolves but my head could think only of the Cullens. I took the car, and headed to First Beach. I needed to think.

* * *

After my jump from the cliff, I went there often. It was the place where I decided I would fight instead of surrender myself to whatever life had planned for me. The place where everything started. When they took me out of the water, for a second everyone thought I was dead because I wasn't breathing. My heart started to beat again before they performed CPR on me, or so Dave had told me. A little miracle.

I had always considered those shadows and flashes of light as a consequence of a head trauma. Maybe they weren't. Maybe a certain Quileute legend could explain them too. So… my father was a werewolf, the Cullens were vampires… and I was some kind of psychic? Could my life become any crazier? And if I had this gift, did this mean I wasn't a werewolf? What if I was both?

I hated myself for what I was going to do, but if anyone could give me answers right now… it was Sam.

Luckily for me, Sam was home, and very pleased to see me. I said hello to Emily and Grace, their daughter, and then I asked Sam if I could talk to him alone. We went out of the house, in the back garden, and once he was sure no one was listening, Sam asked me if I had understood what he couldn't tell me before.

"You asked Kim to give me your wife's book, right?"

"We can't speak of what happened to us. But if you discovered our secret on your own…"

"You mean the fact you, my father, Embry and many others in La Push are werewolves?"

Sam smiled, pleased.

"I knew you would realize the truth. Now you realize why you have to come back. The enemies of our tribe are back. We can't protect you outside our boundaries."

"Maybe I don't need protection. I… I could be one of you."

"You might. Charlie is. It's not rare siblings share this gift. Curse. Whatever you want to call it. I'm still not sure myself."

I tried not to look too shocked. My brother was a werewolf… and Sam was hoping I would be one too.

"Sam… has it ever happened that other legends revealed themselves to be true, beside the ones on the werewolves?"

"No. Why are you asking?"

I was going to explain him about the strange things I saw, but I suddenly decided not to.

"Curiosity," I lied. "So… when you say enemies… you mean vampires?"

"They left twenty years ago, but now they're back. At least a couple of teenagers have changed up to now, without counting your brother. Others will follow… it's what happens when the vampires are close to La Push."

But I had been close to vampires. Closer than licit for a Quileute girl. And nothing had happened… shouldn't have this closeness triggered the transformation? I felt suddenly relieved. I wasn't a werewolf. I lived in that house for four days and I didn't change!

But my relief didn't last long. Maybe I wasn't a werewolf, but I was something else.

And I haven't the faintest idea of what to expect.

Now that I was sure I wouldn't change into a giant, furry creature, I was also ready to go back home and keep reading my mother's diary. My mother was eighteen at the time; I still missed the last two years of her life. My suppositions were mostly right, I discovered, when I came home and resumed reading. She married Jacob after her graduation and tried to balance her new life with the lessons at the community college. When she got pregnant, she had to leave college and concentrate on becoming a mother and a good wife. But she still longed for Edward. Years spent analyzing the reasons of his disappearance made her realize the truth behind their break-up.

That was why my mother thought she was dreaming when, the day after she told everyone she would carry on the pregnancy no matter the risks, Alice Cullen materialized in front of her in Forks.

I had to read the last pages of the diary at least three times, because they were even crazier than the rest. Alice told my mother the truth about the Cullens' disappearance and she asked for her forgiveness. Then she told her she had had a vision about me… My mother knew she would die, Alice told her that clearly, but she didn't change her mind. The only thing she was worried about was my happiness, but Alice told her not to fear, because my destiny was strongly interwined with the Cullens'… She made sure my mother wrote this diary, so I would have my answers when I would have needed them, and she buried the diary in my mother and Edward's meadow, where I would find it eighteen years later…

I closed the diary and held it tightly in my arms. I was crying and smiling at the same time. It was like someone had finally raised the veil that had always been in front of my eyes, and I could see the truth for the first time in my life. The secrets were finally over.

My body protested when I got up again and ran outside. I hadn't slept a moment since I received that map from Kim; I was running on coffee and adrenaline. I took my car once again, and drove till the Cullen mansion. No one was there, so I sat on the steps in front of the house and waited. I yearned to talk with them. I hoped they wouldn't make me wait for long.

**Carlisle**

Our hunting trip didn't go as well as we hoped. Not on the hunting side, we found enough preys for each of us, so to keep our thirst under control for a while. What we missed was the spirit of unity these trips had always inspired us. Our minds were somewhere else… and I didn't have to ask where. We got too attached to that human girl. Now the thought of losing her for good was a constant source of pain for all of us.

We decided to come back early because there was no point in staying in Canada longer. Esme had no desire to see the new house, so we packed and headed back to Forks.

I saw her long before we arrived near the house. Bella was on the steps of the house, with one hand under her chin and the other on her knees, holding a book. I wondered how long she had been there, waiting for our return. Esme, at my side, smiled happily. When I stopped the car she immediately ran to hug Bella and asked her how she was. Bella hugged her back fiercely, and she didn't let go until we all arrived near them.

"Bella," I said, "To what do we owe this pleasant surprise?"

**Bella**

My heart melted when I saw Esme almost running to hug me. I didn't think I could love her more.

"Bella, my dear," she said, stroking my hair. "It's beautiful to see you again."

I hugged her even more tightly. I let her go only when I felt all the others around us.

"Bella," said Carlisle, with a smile, "To what do we owe this pleasant surprise?"

I smiled as well and looked at him straight in the eyes. "We have to talk, Carlisle. We have to talk about so many things…"

And I literally couldn't wait. The secrets were over. Now it was time for the truth.


	6. Addiction

**Carlisle**

"I know the truth about you," Bella simply said once we were all in the living room.

"What truth?" I said.

"Don't play dumb with me, Carlisle. There's no need. I know you're vampires. Vegetarians… you call yourselves this. You don't drink human blood. That's why my people brokered a treaty with you. You don't attack humans, they don't attack you. Right?"

She was smiling. There was no sign of anger or disgust on Bella's face. How could that be? If her people told her the truth, why was she here like nothing had changed?

Maybe because _to her_ nothing had changed. She really was her mother's daughter.

"What else did your people tell you?"

Bella gave me a smug smile. "My people told me nothing. Mom did."

I didn't even try to hide my surprise, and a quick glance to the rest of my family made me see we all shared the same emotions.

"What do you mean?"

"I did talked with Sam Uley, the leader of the La Push werewolves, but he didn't tell me a thing about you. Just about the werewolves… something I'm not, thank God. What I know about your family, I learned it here," and she looked at the diary in her hands. "My mother wrote it for me… on Alice's advice."

"Alice?" asked Esme. "Alice came back here? When? Why?"

"Six months before I was born. She had a vision about me, and my mother's death. She didn't try to convince my mother to interrupt the pregnancy… She just wanted to tell my mother that… that she didn't have to worry about not being there for me, because she saw you would've looked after me. Alice also told her that Edward never stopped loving her, not even for a second. She was terribly sorry for having left her without a word."

"May I… May I see it?" I said, referring to the little book Bella was holding in her hands. She immediately got up and gave it to me.

"I can see that mentioning Alice and Edward saddened you. You don't have to answer me, Carlisle… but why are they not here? What happened to them?"

I was going to reply, but Jasper preceded me.

"When Edward heard about your mother's death, his heart broke. He left without a word, and went to Volterra, to provoke the Volturi's wrath, in order to die and join your mother. Alice… my wife… she tried to stop him. She ran to Volterra, but it was too late. Alice tried to stop the Volturi… but they killed her too."

"I'm sorry… I didn't imagine," Bella said. She was clearly sorry to have inadvertently caused us and Jasper distress. Rosalie told me she thought Jasper cared maybe a little too much about Bella… but I could see in Bella's eyes that feeling was reciprocated. Whatever would happen, I hoped the story wouldn't repeat itself till its tragic finale. But now it was too early to be worried. Esme could be wrong, for once, and those feelings stay unexpressed, or just evolve in a strong friendship…

Lost as I was in my thoughts, I didn't notice the change of topic in the conversation. They were all reminiscing about our old friend Bella Swan, her incredible clumsiness and all the things she had brought in our lives in the short time we had lived with her. Bella, smiling, closed her eyes for an instant, leaning her head on Esme's shoulder… and she didn't reopen them.

"Seems like someone has had enough emotions for the day," she said with an affectionate smile.

She moved to take Bella in her arms to bring her in her room upstairs, but Jasper said he would do it instead.

"I have to go upstairs anyway," he shrugged, and left with Bella in his arms without saying a word.

**Jasper**

I didn't know why I offered to take her upstairs. I even made up a lie to stop Esme from doing it herself. The only plausible reason I could find was that I felt responsible for her, since I had saved her life and everything. And her scent… Yes, that was definitely another reason why I was attracted to her. I never smelled anything so good and inebriating... Needless to say, I was very careful to keep my thirst at bay when I was around her. The fact my self-control had dramatically improved didn't mean my instinct had changed.

I deposed Bella on her bed, trying not to wake her, and I took a blanket from the wardrobe for her.

"Jasper?" Bella murmured with a sleepy voice.

"Shhh, Bella. Go back to sleep," I said, covering her with the blanket. Bella clutched the rim of the blanket and held it closer to her body. She was fighting to keep her eyes open.

"There are so many things I need to say…"

"And all the time in the world to do it. Sleep now, you're exhausted."

"You know, Mom never hated you for that accident, Jasper…" she whispered with her eyes closed, and after a second she was already asleep.

I couldn't help but smile. I wondered what else Bella wrote in that diary… Without noticing, I ended up thinking of Alice. I remembered she had disappeared for a couple of weeks the year of Bella's birth, but she never told anyone what she had done in that time spent away from our family. Her feelings were really mixed up when she came back. She was weird when she was around me… she felt sad and happy at the same time. And she kept repeating how much she loved me, and how grateful she was to have found me in that diner, all those years before. I didn't suspect a thing until it was too late. She was saying goodbye. Alice knew she was going to die.

The race against time to Volterra… I'd have never forgotten that horrible journey to Italy, and Jane announcing to us Alice and Edward's deaths. Edward provoked the Volturi's wrath by exposing himself to the sunlight in Volterra, breaking our unspoken rule of secrecy. Alice… she merely was a collateral damage. An accident. Aro, Caius and Marcus were really sorry… I didn't care. My wife was dead, and their remorse, sincere or not, wouldn't have brought her back to me.

Bella moved in her sleep, and I awoke from my reverie. I slowly got up from the bed and joined the rest of my family downstairs. Carlisle was reading some parts of the diary to Esme and the others.

Bella had been destroyed by our departure. Now we had a written proof of that. Esme stood behind his armchair, with one hand on his shoulder. Everyone was sad and guilty, even Rosalie. I cleared my throat, just in case they didn't hear me coming down the stairs, and sat next to Emmett.

"Is Bella sleeping?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes. Carlisle… what now?"

I didn't need to read minds to guess it was the question everyone was thinking.

"She's Bella's daughter," Carlisle replied, after a while. "It's enough for me. Alice wanted us to take care of her… I don't see why not."

"What about her relatives? And the tribe?" asked Rosalie.

"We'll find a way," said Esme, with a tone that admitted no reply.

Emmett nodded, with a grin. "Good. I love having her around. She's almost as funny and clumsy as her mother was!"

I suppressed a smile. I caught her myself a couple of times before she hit the floor or fell down the stairs. That clumsiness annoyed her to no end, I could tell. Everyone decided to watch a DVD, waiting for the morning to come, and I retired in the library. I was looking for a book to read when my eyes fell on the book 

I had started to read with Bella. I was going to open it, but I decided to wait for her. Instead I took – of all books – War and Peace. I knew it by heart by now, but it was still a good story to read.

After I read a few pages, though, I felt something was wrong. I was restless. Usually reading always relaxed me… but I think it didn't help the fact I was picturing Countess Natasha Rostova in my head with long brown hair and blue eyes. Bella's eyes.

I paid extra attention to be careful when going out of the library, clutching _Around the World in Eighty Days_ in my hand. I went upstairs again and headed to Bella's room. I'd had enough of Rosalie's comments about me and Bella, and I didn't want to fuel her delusional fantasies.

Bella was still asleep. She would probably never notice I was there. I sat on the leather couch, and retrieved the last page I read…

"That better not be our book, or I might have to kill you."

I looked at Bella. Her eyes were open and she was staring at me.

"A normal girl would sleep for a week after what you went through."

"Somewhere in my DNA there is a latent wolf gene. I'm sleeping in a house full of vampires. In case you haven't noticed yet… I'm no normal girl."

"Definitely you are not."

"I know I should sleep, but I can't… I keep thinking about what happened… "

I sighed, and moved from the couch to her bed. I put a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax, Bella. You earned this right."

"What now, Jasper? I don't want to stay away from you… any of you. But I fear what my father could do. He knows you're back. What he doesn't know is what happened to Edward… Dave told me he said 'He won't have her'. If her refers to me, I think he… I think his biggest fear is to lose me to Edward, like it happened with my mother."

"It's not going to happen. Edward's dead."

"But hell will freeze over before I'll tell my father that."

I didn't know why but I offered to read for her, in another attempt to help her sleep for at least a couple of hours. My intention was to go back to the couch; I didn't expect her to move and make room for me on her bed.

"I might disturb you."

"How could you?"

"I'm cold as ice, Bella."

"Good thing I have a blanket."

"It's not… convenient," I said, for lack of better words. She wasn't my wife or fiancée… it wasn't appropriate. But she didn't let go.

"Good thing we are in the 21st century."

"You are not going to let me win this argument," I said matter-of-factly.

"I knew you were smart," she said with a smile.

I told myself there was nothing wrong with reading a book with her on the same bed, after all, because nothing else would happen. She would fall asleep soon, and I would move from that potential embarrassing situation before someone, namely Rosalie or Esme, caught me. I should've known better.

Like the day we started reading that book, she came closer to me and put her head on my shoulder. I made sure she was covered by the blanket, and I started to read. She fell asleep after a few pages, like I knew she would have. Bella turned on her side, and I covered her better with the blanket. My hand stayed on her shoulder a few seconds more than the strictly necessary, and Bella found it in her sleep, entwining her fingers with mine. I let her, and I found myself trapped, so to speak.

Bella needed to sleep; waking her so I could go away was something I would never do, so I laid down next to her, with my arm around her shoulder. My other arm was laying awkwardly on her pillow, just a little over her head. I tried not to inhale too much of her scent… she wasn't my singer, I was sure of that. But the effect that scent had on me since the first moment I smelled it…

I couldn't help myself. I moved closer to her and breathed in her sweet scent from her skin and hair. She was like a drug to me… but it wasn't her blood that I craved the most, I realized with a shiver. It was _her_. Just her… a eighteen year old human girl… With my other hand, I started stroking her hair. She was breathing slowly and regularly, I could see her chest raising with every breath she took. I closed my eyes and concentrated on her steady heartbeat.

I always thought that after Alice I would never found someone else. Alice was too unique, and impossible to replace. And then I met Bella. She was nothing like Alice, she wasn't even a vampire… still, I couldn't stay away from her. The days spent hunting hadn't been painful only for Esme. My thoughts had always been with Bella, all the time.

The other thing I was sure of was that even if I found someone else, I would always think of Alice. That everything I would do, I would always feel like I was betraying her. But now I had Bella in my arms, and I didn't feel guilt or pain. I felt… at peace. Like holding Bella was the right thing to do. And maybe for that night it was.

Anyway, I didn't want to say anything or get closer to her until I was sure of what I was feeling, and that said feelings weren't just a manifestation of my instinct or the way her scent made me feel.

If she was my last chance at happiness, I would do the unthinkable to keep her safe.


	7. Journey

**Bella**

I woke up in Jasper's arms. I sighed happily… Maybe too much. Jasper heard me and immediately moved to break the embrace.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to…"

I sat on the bed and gave him an confused yet amused look, while he got up on his feet and put some distance between me and him.

"It's ok… I never slept better in my life. Thank you," I said then, trying not to blush. I'd fallen asleep in Dave's room when we were both younger, but this… this was different on oh so many levels. It was official: I had a crush on Jasper Whitlock. Hale. Cullen. Whatever.

Jasper was looking at me with a weird look. It was like he never saw me before. I tilted my head and asked him if there was something wrong.

"Nothing, Bella. I'm fine."

He wasn't. Something upset him. I got up, keeping my blanket around me, and I walked till I was in front of him.

"Liar. For being such an expert on human emotions you're not that hard to read. Did you know that?"

He bowed his head and chuckled, giving me that lovely smile of his I came to love in so little time when he rose his eyes to meet mine.

"Only to you, it seems."

I felt grateful my knees were covered, or Jasper would see them shake. Way to go, Bella… I could tell my father and brother off, but it took just a smile from Jasper to make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I wasn't as strong as I thought… and for once, I wasn't angry at myself for that. Quite the opposite.

From that moment on, I became a regular guest at the Cullen residence in the following months. It was hard trying to keep them from spoiling me rotten, since money to them had no importance at all, but I was doing good. Rosalie decided that since I compared shopping to the worst kind of medieval tortures ever invented we could bond in the garage instead, while she worked on Emmett's Jeep or on my car. She was trying to convince me to change my Volvo with something faster and nicer, but I was still in love with my first car. That, and I had the impression than she would never settle down for less than a car like the one she owned, and since everyone in town knew my family condition, a Mercedes like hers was definitely out of question!

After fixing the engine and the stereo (courtesy of Emmett), now we were talking about changing the color of the car, so we submerged the living room with paint catalogues. I didn't even think that so many shades of white existed! Emmett joined us in the decision process, and even Carlisle and Esme gave me their two cents. But not Jasper. He just watched at us with a deeply amused smile on his face every time he went in and out of the library. But he always waited till I met my eyes before disappearing in his realm. I wondered what he was up to. In those months we had spent more and more time together, and my crush just got worse. He didn't say anything, though, so I was relieved somehow that my pathetic infatuation didn't get noticed by him. I couldn't stand to lose his friendship, and I feared that was just what would happen if I told him how I felt.

It took a month, but in the end we decided my black Volvo would look stunning in red. Rose found a wonderful shade of burgundy (and the fact she never let me see again the sample or the price made me wonder how much that paint cost…) and she took the car to the Cullen garage to finish the job herself. 

Suddenly no one looked worried or sad to not see me for the next three-four days, not even Esme, and I didn't understand why.

Now that I was forced to spend my afternoons there, my house looked suddenly small and ugly to me, compared to the Cullen house, so big, and full of light… Esme did a great job with that house. Maybe I shouldn't have prohibited her to do the same to _my_ house, but it was definitely too much.

Meanwhile, I tried to keep a low profile at school. The plan was to get unnoticed till graduation, but for some reason I ended up being noticed by no one else than Mike Newton and Jessica Stanley's kid, Karl. The apple didn't fall far from the tree. Karl had a big crush on me since day one, he followed me everywhere… and he clashed regularly with Rob Ecklie, apparently my other unwanted suitor. I swore I didn't know what was wrong with them. It had to be because I was the new girl in town. What else?

I was trying to dodge their insistence in offering me a ride home, like they did every given day since Rose had taken my car (Carlisle was so kind to take me to school every morning before racing to work, but I simply refused to be picked up by Emmett with his Jeep), when I saw Jasper, dressed with a biker jacket and sunglasses, waiting for me at the other side of the street with the most beautiful bike I had ever seen. I thanked God, and crossed the street to meet him without saying goodbye to Rob or Karl.

I hugged him out of relief. "Thank God… It's so nice to see you, Jasper, you have no idea!"

I felt his arms hugging me tightly, and his head bowing slightly so he could whisper to my ear.

"And this happiness has something to do with the two boys that are looking at us…no, at _me_ with burning hate from the other side of the street?"

"Would you mind hugging me till they go away? Don't wanna face them again."

He chuckled against my ear; I chuckled as well, and rested my head against his chest.

"I wish they would leave me alone. What the hell is wrong with them?"

"You don't want a boyfriend?"

"That's the whole point… they decided they both want to be my boyfriend. I didn't! For months, I've been trying to keep them at bay, and now that Rosalie has taken my car they are fighting for the right to save the poor damsel in distress…"

"Sorry… who? I don't see any damsel in distress here."

I laughed. "Care to explain it to them?"

"Anytime. Good, they left. Now… would you like to take a trip to Port Angeles with me?"

"Port Angeles?"

Jasper's arms were still holding me close. I concentrated on his face, and I ordered my knees to stop shaking.

"I was thinking we might check that new bookshop, since the inauguration is today… and maybe that movie you were so excited to see…"

My brain went into overload. That sounded like a date… No, I said to myself. Not a date. Just Jasper being his usual nice, caring self. Guys like Rob and Karl could see me as a potential girlfriend… Jasper was out of my league. Sad but true.

"A movie on vampires?" I reminded him.

"Someone a few days ago said I should have fun outside of the library once in a while. I'm just obeying your orders, ma'am."

"Yes, but..."

A part of my brain shouted at me to stop pushing my luck and shut up already. I shook my head, and said it sounded perfect. He smiled and gave me a jacket similar to his and a helmet. He didn't need one, but, like he said when he put his on, better not to draw too much attention on us.

When he started driving the bike, though, I wondered why he was worried of something like that. It wasn't likely someone could see us, since we were racing at the speed of sound. Or something close to that. I didn't complain. Why should I? Every excuse I could find to stay close to him was good and licit in my eyes. And I loved the adrenaline rush this trip was giving me.

When we arrived in Port Angeles, Jasper helped me get off the bike… and thank God, I was feeling a little light-headed, I would certainly fall on the ground. Obviously he noticed it. I couldn't hide anything from him. So, before our trip to the bookshop, he took me to eat something.

"But I'm fine!" I kept protesting, while he was pushing me into a diner.

"You almost fainted. You need to eat something."

"It was the light-speed trip with your bike. Which I really enjoyed, by the way. Come on, let's go to the bookshop… I can eat later, before the movie…"

"You're not going to win this one, Bella."

I sighed. "I had a feeling. K, then. May I choose what to eat at least?"

"It's a free country."

"Haha, so funny."

We sat to a table near the window, and immediately a waitress came to pick up our orders. Jasper took a coffee, that I already knew he wouldn't touch, and I ordered a hamburger with French fries.

"Just… don't tell Esme," I said when the waitress brought me what I ordered. "This doesn't fall exactly under the definition of 'healthy food'. And Rosalie would kill me if she knew I'm eating something like that."

"Sincerely, I think we'll have a bigger problem than this once at home… since I didn't tell them I would take the bike to make this trip with you."

I burst out laughing. "You're right, you're the one toasted here! Esme will have your head."

Jasper laughed, and took some French fries from my plate.

"You never ate these?"

"When I was human, this things were yet to come," he said, giving them a closer look.

"Well, I'm sorry for you," I said, taking a French fry and dipping it in ketchup sauce. "Or not. This thing it's like deep-fried crack. Damn addictive. What was yours?"

"Sorry?"

"When you were…human… what was your drug of choice?"

I didn't mean to upset him; but for a second, the look in his eyes was so sad and painful that I wished I could take it back.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you this," I immediately said, lowering my eyes and finishing my meal.

Jasper didn't reply to me. I mentally bashed myself. I ate slower than I could… I didn't want to raise my head and see that look on him. The knowledge I had caused it made me hurt inside...

"My mother's peach pie."

I raised the head. "What?"

"My 'drug' when I was alive. That pie. I ate it for the last time the evening before I ran away from home to enroll in the Confederate Army."

"Really?"

Jasper nodded.

That would make him… oh, screw that. I already knew his age was probably ten times mine or more. If I didn't care when I discovered the truth about the Cullens, I certainly didn't care now. All I care was that Jasper didn't have that painful look in the eyes anymore. I couldn't bear to cause him pain. No one in the family had talked to me much about his past, but something must have happened. Something bad. I would love to ask, but he had to be the one to talk. Maybe one day he would.

**Jasper**

When Bella asked me that question she caught me off-guard. It had been a lot of time since the last time I had thought of my human life. For certain aspects it was like it belonged to someone else. I thought of Maria, and for a second or two the memories of the years spent in her army flooded me with all their pain. Bella lowered her eyes and concentrated on her food, but I didn't miss the glimpse of anguish in her eyes. She was sorry to have caused me pain…

I thought again of my human life, but I concentrated harder on my family. I knew there was an answer to her question… it was just a matter of concentration. I didn't want her to feel bad just because of that. And suddenly, I remembered the answer.

"My mother's peach pie."

"What?" she said. She wasn't expecting an answer from me anymore… but she was relieved I was speaking to her, I could tell.

"My 'drug' when I was alive," I explained. "That pie. I ate it for the last time the evening before I ran away from home to enroll in the Confederate Army."

How was it possible that a memory so old could be so powerful? I couldn't help but smile. My mother, my human mother… I hoped she had forgiven her impulsive, idealistic son after he left the family to follow a dream of glory in the Army. A dream that became the darkest nightmare, until Alice brought back the light in my life.

"Really?"

She was genuinely surprised. Pleased, even. After we paid and went out of the diner, she took me under my arm and asked me, if it wasn't a problem, how the society was at my time. We talked and laughed for a while, until Bella froze.

"Oh God," she whispered.

"Bella, what's wrong?"

I looked at her, worried, and then I looked at what she was looking. I groaned. Rob and Karl were both out the cinema with some other friends from Bella's school. They saw us, and they were already moving in our direction…

Before I could do something, Bella muttered an apology… and after raising on her tiptoes I felt her lips brushing mine. I was shocked, I definitely wasn't expecting this… but with the corner of my eye I could see the two guys were looking at us, and now if possible they were even more annoyed than they were a few hours before. Annoyed… and defeated. The girl they wanted was now out of reach.

And I loved it.

Bella and I looked each other in the eyes after our first, awkward kiss. Her face was still so close to mine, our foreheads were slightly touching. She was going to mutter some other excuse for that kiss, I was sure, but this time I would be the one not to give her the chance to talk. I took Bella's face in my hands with infinite attention, and kissed her softly on the lips. She wasn't expecting that reaction from me, and for a second I feared she didn't want this… but just for a second, before feeling her arms around my neck pulling me closer. We break soon after, and we both laughed. I never saw Bella happier. And I knew I was the one responsible for this. Just for this reason, I felt the happiest man in the world… but my happiness was so much bigger than that. I was alive once more. Bella did that much for me.

**Bella**

Jasper kissed me. I couldn't think of anything else.

I was happy his hands were not at the sides of my face anymore but on my back, or I would fall on the ground. Again. He kissed me… Does that mean he…? Or was it just because of those two? I didn't dare to ask. I didn't dare to move. I didn't want to break that perfect moment.

"Suddenly, I don't want to see that movie anymore," I managed to say after a while.

"Good," he whispered, before kissing me again. "Let's go somewhere else."

We retrieved the bike, and we went on the beach for a walk. The weather was awful, it was windy and cold even if we were in April. But we didn't care… He had his arm around my shoulders, and my head rested on his. Every once in a while he kissed my lips or my forehead, and I felt like in heaven.

"I wish I would never wake up."

"You're awake, Bella."

"No, I'm not. This could happen to me only in a dream. You're so out of reach for me."

"Am I?"

"You are."

"Apparently not. I'm here walking with you. And I love you. I do. Probably since the first moment I saw you."

"In a graveyard, frozen and half covered in snow. Lovely."

"You looked like an angel to me. You always did… and always will."

And in that exact moment my phone rang. Dammit! I sighed heavily, and I imagined at least a dozen ways to kill Dave the next time I saw him.

"This better be important or I swear I'll hang up."

"And hello to you too, Bells. I just received a call from Josh... Sounds like you're having fun in Port Angeles, and not on your own for a change. It's true?"

"Since when you and Josh are so friends?"

"Since you left me here in the rez all alone. So… who's the tall, blonde guy you were kissing with such enthusiasm near the cinema?"

I smiled, and I took Jasper's hand. "His name's Jasper."

"Jasper… Hale? One of the Cullen kids?"

"Yes. My God, Josh loves gossip more than Julie!"

"You know what it's like. We are all a bunch of gossip-lovers here in the reservation."

"Dave, are you ok? You sound weird…"

"I'm fine, perfectly fine! Maybe a tad jealous…"

"Shut up. I'll see you soon, ok?"

"Ok. Bye, Bells!"

I closed the call, and went back to Jasper's arms. I was tired and I asked him to go home… but he was strangely reluctant to accomplish my request.

"Jasper, what's wrong? Why don't you want to take me home?"

"I want to stay alone with you."

"And?"

"And I have received specific orders not to take you home sooner than 7 PM."

Now I was scared. What were Esme, Carlisle, Rosalie and Emmett doing in my house while I was on that beach with Jasper?

"Take me home, Jasper. Now."

Jasper took me in his arms. "I want you to keep in mind that if Esme had had her way you would've never left our house. She just wanted to be sure you would live in a nice place…"

Oh God. She did it.

"Did she paint my house?"

Jasper didn't know what to answer."I think that was the first thing on her list…"

Bad sign. Definitely that was a bad sign. I begged him to fetch the bike and take me home.

This time we traveled at a slower speed, and I enjoyed the ride even more. But when we arrived at my house, I was actually scared to go inside and see what Esme and the others had done. The fear passed when I saw my car with its new paint on. Rosalie appeared out of nowhere, and asked me what I thought.

"It's simply wonderful, Rosalie. Thank you!"

"If you think that is wonderful, wait to see the inside of your house!" said Emmett, coming out of the house with his shirt stained with blue and yellow paint. I gave a dubious look to Jasper, that took my hand and led me inside. I couldn't believe my eyes: it was my house, but at the same time it wasn't. All the things old and ruined had disappeared. The walls were now a pale shade of yellow, the couch and the armchairs now were green and looked brand new (I just hoped they weren't). The blue on their shirts had to come from my bedroom… Esme took me upstairs, and I was left speechless when I saw the bed. It wasn't the one now I 

claimed as mine in their house, but it was clearly made by the same hands that made the first. I touched one of the metal roses that adorned the headboard, the ivory drapes at my window, the new furniture she chose when she couldn't renovate the older one. Esme was a mind-reader. It was exactly how I wanted my house to be.

Esme was looking at me with incertitude, but her expression relaxed when I hugged her and thanked her once back downstairs with the others.

"You shouldn't have. And you know it."

"You prohibited us to do anything for you… so we decided to keep you away and do it anyway," said Carlisle with a small smile. He has paint stains on his clothes as well. The always pristine Carlisle… I couldn't believe it. And yet, it was true…

"But how? You couldn't have done all of this in a day."

"We planned this moment in advance," smiled Esme. "You were spending so little time in your house that we were sure you wouldn't have noticed the little changes. For the bigger ones we waited for the perfect day… today."

Esme had no idea of how much perfect that day was.

"Wait till you see the back garden to start crying, ok?" said Rosalie.

"What's in the back garden?"

"Something I put in there for you," Jasper said. He took me there with his hands over my eyes to not let me see anything in advance… but the sweet floral scent gave away the surprise before he took his hands from my eyes. Honeysuckle, rose, freesia… their combined scents was so good and particular. I breathed in deeply a couple of times.

"It's so good, Jasper. So beautiful. But why those flowers?"

"Because you smell like this to me," he whispered to my ear with a smile.

I couldn't believe my ears. Really? I smelled like that amazing combination of spring flowers? That was probably the best, sweetest compliment someone ever made to me. Jasper was hugging me from behind, and without thinking I took his head down so I could kiss him. I had forgotten we weren't alone… and so had he.

Carlisle's polite coughing brought us back to reality. We both laughed, but we stayed in each other's arms.

"We wanted to make you a surprise, but it seems like you two made one to us as well," he said.

I was fearing their reaction, but I realized I was being stupid. Everyone was happy for us, even Rosalie. My life was perfect: I had a family, a wonderful boyfriend that loved me, and for once the future didn't look scary or uncertain. The Cullens would never let something bad happen to me. It was with that thought that I watched them go home. I kissed Jasper goodbye under the amused looks of the others and Emmett's loud cheering, and I watched them disappear from my sight. I went back inside my house, and I went straight to my new garden. In a couple of years, the walls would be covered with honeysuckle… it would be beautiful. I showered and put some clean clothes on. Jasper had whispered to me before leaving he would come see me later, and I couldn't wait to spend the night with him.

It happened in a heartbeat. I didn't see it coming. One second I was smiling at the thought of seeing my boyfriend, the next I was trying to scream with someone else's hand on my mouth to make me shut up. I kicked and fought against the intruder, but the arms holding me were too strong for me. I felt a sharp pain in the arm, and soon after I felt too weak and tired to fight. I felt someone taking me out of the house and in the backseat of a car.

Before losing consciousness completely, I recognized my brother's eyes in the rear mirror.


	8. Captivity

**Dave Call**

I watched the cuts on my hand as they healed faster than humanly possible. The blood-stained glass came out of my hand and fell in the sink one piece at the time with a musical sound, and I wished it could hurt a million times more. Sam was watching me, and I knew he was also watching the mirror I had just shattered. I couldn't stand my reflection anymore. I had betrayed my best friend, and I couldn't forgive myself.

Everyone cheered too much when I became a werewolf, but I realized too late it was mostly because they knew that from that moment on they could keep an eye on Bella from a distance because of our friendship. When Sam told me what were the things Bella was seeing – the flashes of light, the shadows moving at the corner of her eyes – I was given the task to convince her to come back. But I didn't.

I knew how unhappy Bella was at the reservation, and she deserved a chance to live her life by her own rules. The pack wasn't happy with me, especially Charlie and Jacob. I was a rebel that didn't want to serve the common cause. That was why when Josh Clearwater, Leah's son, saw Bella with a Cullen, Sam came immediately to me and ordered me to make that phone call. I couldn't disobey a direct order. I had no idea Charlie and Jared would go at her house to take her here against her will. When I saw the two bringing her inside Jacob's house still unconscious, I felt horrible. I didn't want it to end like that. I crushed the mirror in the bathroom with a scream of rage after Paul and Leah complimented me for the information I had provided them without knowing. Bella would never forgive me.

"It was the right thing to do," said Sam.

"The right thing? You better be prepared, Sam, because Bella won't go down without a fight," I said, looking at my distorted reflection. "She'll never accept it."

"She has to take her place in the tribe. What she can do…"

"We don't know yet if she really has this 'gift' or not. You told me that all the women that had manifested things similar to what happened to her… well, they all went insane."

"It didn't manifest yet, but it will. That's why she has to stay here."

"I thought she was here because her father couldn't stand to see her with a vampire."

"That was something that had to end immediately. It was wrong and against nature."

"She sounded happy on the phone. That Jasper made her happy. She'll do whatever she can to go back to him."

"That's why we blocked all the windows and put two locks on her door," said Leah, stopping near Sam. She had stopped phasing after she got pregnant with Josh, so she looked older than the rest. Josh's birth was the other big gossip around here. Since Josh was a werewolf, and the gene passed only from father to son, Leah had to have conceived him with one of the pack. The point was that everyone wondered if Josh could be his son. Leah had been faithful only to one man in her life. The others men, married or not, werewolves or not, were just a pastime.

My money was on Jacob. Leah could never stand Bella, according to my mother, while after a rocky start Leah and Jacob became really close. Charlie always considered Josh more than just a simple friend; the fact that they went together to kidnap Bella meant he trusted him with his life. And they sort of look the same. That would also mean that Bella Swan wasn't the cheating spouse in that couple; Jacob was. I wondered if she had known that story, before she died… if she had ever watched Leah's black-haired son and wondered if he was her child's half-brother…

I heard Bella's fists hitting the door with violence. She had always been stronger than she looked, but now she risked hurting herself. Not that I would've done anything different in her situation.

"Open this door! Open it! Dad, open this damn door! Charlie, I know it was you and Josh! I know _everything_! Let me go!"

Every shout was followed by a fist or a kick against the door. Leah listened, amused.

"I'll give her that, she has a nice temper. She would've made a nice werewolf."

"She's more than that, Leah," said Sam, even if we barely heard him between Bella's screams and blows to the door.

"Right, she's Melinda freaking Gordon. But I wouldn't get my hopes up… you said it yourself, all the ones that came before her ended up in a padded room or committed suicide. This one just kissed a vampire, we can say for sure she has suicidal tendencies..."

"Enough, Leah."

"God, I hate that you can still order me around. Anyway," she continued, "You better go talk with the kid, Sam. Hopefully she'll stop making all this damn noise!"

"If I woke up in a place I swore I would never set foot again, with the windows nailed and the door locked, I would do the same. And so would you," I said.

"I would never be so stupid to meddle with the damn bloodsuckers. But you know how it is… like mother, like daughter…"

"Go to hell, Leah."

"Likewise, kid. And don't forget we're all keeping a close eye on you. Don't screw up."

I growled. God, I so hated that woman.

"Calm down, Dave. Go talk to her… she'll listen to you."

"She'll bite my head off. But I deserve it."

Sam sighed. His patience was running out with me. Before I could say something else, I went to Bella's room and slowly removed the padlocks Leah put on the door, finding the courage to face Bella.

To face her hate and distaste.

**Bella**

When I opened my eyes, I thought I was dreaming. That was my room at the reservation, the room I swore I would never go back to. The window was nailed; all the things I could use to force it open were gone. I immediately ran to the door, but it was locked. No, it wasn't happening. Life couldn't be so unfair. I fell on the floor, crying, calling for Jasper and the other Cullens. I felt like I was six again and I ended up in the attic as a punishment. I spent hours crying and calling for my mother, then. That thought gave me the strength to get up and wipe my tears. I knew what she wanted for me. I knew who she entrusted me with. If they thought a locked door would keep me away from my real family, they were completely wrong.

"Open this door!" I started shouting, banging at the door. "Open it! Dad, open this damn door! Charlie, I know it was you and Josh! I know _everything_! Let me go!"

I don't know how long I kept going. A while, I supposed. I was too angry to calm down. Then I felt the locks on my door opening. Locks, plural. What the hell was going on? Have everyone in the reservation gone insane?

The door opened, I and found myself staring at Dave.

"Of all people, I never expected it to be you," I whispered, angry and disappointed.

"Bella," he whispered, broken and sad. "Please, let me in. We… we have to talk."

"Why," I sarcastically said, stepping aside. "Do I have a choice?"

Dave entered the room and closed the door. I sat on my bed, turning my back to him.

"Bella… I didn't have a choice. I would've never betrayed your trust if I could have helped it."

"Have you finished? Now go. I won't forgive you, Dave. Never."

"I'm a werewolf, Bells. Sam is our leader. You can't disobey his orders. He ordered me to call you, to have confirmation of what…"

"Are you deaf?" I shouted, full of rage. I got up and went to him. "I don't want to talk to you ever again. I don't wanna see you in my room. And remember to tell your friends that they better be prepared because I'll fight them until I can't. Now get out. GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

I never saw Dave more defeated and broken. We never hurt each other on purpose, not even when we were children… but we knew we were on different sides of a barricade. He was a werewolf. I was with the vampires. And I would make sure in the following days everyone knew that.

After a while, I heard the door opening again. I turned my back to it.

"You hurt Dave with your words."

Sam. I folded my arms and stiffened my position. Sam slowly walked to my bed and sat down. He didn't try to convince me to sat with him or to look in the face. We both knew I wouldn't do either thing.

"Does your heritage mean nothing to you, Bella? You're a Quileute. Your father is in the Council. And you've been blessed with a gift so rare and special…"

"I'm not a werewolf."

"I was talking about the things you see. The shadows, the flashes of light…"

"It's nothing."

"When we phase, our minds become all connected. You can't hide anything to the others. Dave did a remarkable job in protecting your secrets, but he eventually failed. Your bond is very strong."

"Apparently not enough."

"When you came to me months ago, you wanted to ask me about the legend of Quetit, didn't you?"

I didn't reply; he kept talking.

"You're not the first one. Other girls over the centuries manifested this gift. But they couldn't cope with that power. They all went insane. Or worse. But when you were born…"

"I know the story."

"You don't know everything."

"And exactly, which part am I missing?"

"The part in which you almost died."

I slowly turned to face him, shocked. "What?" I whispered.

"We were all there. The nurse had just told Jacob Bella was dead and you didn't survive as well. Then another doctor came and said you started to breathe and cry. No one could explain it. It was a miracle."

"Like when I jumped from that cliff."

"You faced death twice… and you came back. Like Quetit, but no one dared say it, not even when we first saw your eyes."

"I had a severe head trauma years ago. It's just a consequence of that."

"You don't believe it anymore. Not after discovering about us. About the Cullens."

Hearing Sam say that name with so much hate fueled my rage again.

"The werewolves are the protectors of our tribe, but the legend says they were your protectors as well."

"Quetit's, not mine!"

"It doesn't change a thing. You'll take your place in the tribe, in the Council. It's your destiny."

"I make my own destiny! You can't oblige me."

"It's what we all said at the beginning," said Sam, with a hint of sadness. "We didn't have a choice, and neither do you."

"If you think the Cullens won't come and look for me, you're a fool."

"There's a message on your door. You decided to come back here of your own will."

I laughed, amused by his stupid attempt to fool the Cullens.

"Jasper and I had to see each other tonight. And he knows I would never leave Forks without telling him or Esme. Pathetic try, Sam."

"Forget about them. You are not going to see them again," he said, getting up and walking to the door.

"Forget about them? Never! They are more my family than the sorry excuses for a father and brother I had for eighteen years!" I shouted to Sam, while he was locking the door. "Jasper will never stop looking for me, you hear me Sam? Have you all heard me, La Push werewolves? THEY WILL NEVER STOP LOOKING FOR ME!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, banging my fists on the door until my hands started to bleed. I sat in a corner, and prayed to God he would help me escape the hell my own family threw me into.

At first, I refused to eat. I thought it was the only way I had to show how unhappy I was. And it gave me the chance to be awful to Dave on a daily basis. After a couple of days, I realized how stupid I was being. Starving wouldn't do me any good, especially in a house full of people three times stronger than me. Once I got better, I started thinking of a way to get away from there. They took away my socks and shoes, and everything that could be sharpened and used as a weapon or a screwdriver. What couldn't be taken away had been nailed. I could leave my room to go to the bathroom or to go downstairs, where I could always find my father, Leah, and half the pack. I wasn't allowed in the kitchen (too many knives, and a back door) but they would never deny me a glass of water between meals if I asked nicely. There were people looking at me with hate, others with doubt, but no one with friendly eyes. I had no ally there, and I still didn't want to talk to Dave.

Watching Leah and my father made me sick. I knew of the gossip about Josh. I knew how much close Charlie and Josh were. There had been times in which the two came to dinner in this house, and I felt like the guest, the intruder. One night when I was six I saw Leah go out of my father's room. I was too little to understand then, but now I wasn't anymore. My father had betrayed my mother when she was pregnant 

with his first child. And had kept on doing it before and after her death. I promised myself to tell them what I thought of them before my captivity was over, because it would be over…

It was then that it started. A voice. A voice telling me that if I wanted to be free, I had to free myself. I ignored it. I didn't want to hear it. My destiny wasn't written in stone like they kept telling me!

But the voice was persistent.

"You are not crazy. I know it, you know it. What's the problem then?"

"I don't want them to know," I whispered, afraid they could hear me. "how can I hide something like this?"

"They can't hear me. You can."

"What are you? I mean… are you a ghost? Why can't I see you?"

"I think you will, in a while. And yes, I'm a ghost."

"Oh. Cool. I think. Why do you want to help me?"

"Because this is not your place. You cry every night and call many names…"

"The Cullens. I have to go back to them. They're my family."

"Stop being so mean to Dave."

"Why?"

"It's your only chance to get help."

"He's one of them. He won't help me."

"Ask him."

I looked at my right, at the void next to me. "I'm not begging him for help."

"Suck it up, Bella, and do it."

"Bossy type, you are."

I sighed and decided to follow the advice of my invisible friend. Dave would come within minutes with my dinner. The perfect occasion.

Like always, Dave entered the room with sad eyes, and put the tray on my desk. But unlike the other times, I thanked him. And I took him by surprise, used as he was to be ignored.

"I'm sorry," I said, and I really meant it.

"I deserve your hate."

"No, you don't. You didn't tell them voluntarily, they took it from your head."

"I should've paid more attention."

"Help me, please."

"I can't," he said, putting his hands in his pockets. Like he was looking for something but tried not to think about it…

"Dave…"

"Bella, I have all their eyes on me. If I help you, they will destroy me. There's nothing I can do."

He took out his hands, and a little Swiss knife fell from his left pocket. He always lost things from his pockets that way… He looked at me, never at the knife, and after telling me how sorry he was, he left my 

room. I ran to take the little knife and I immediately hid it under my bed. I gave it to Dave as a birthday gift the year before. I knew all the blades it had inside; probably more than the entire Swiss population. And one of them could be very useful with nailed windows. I hoped he wouldn't get into trouble for this.

The next evening, he dropped some money on the floor. In case I made it outside. We still pretended not to talk to each other, and Dave enjoyed his part now that he knew he was just a play for the other werewolves. I stayed awake every night, slowly removing the nails from my window. It was hard, slow, and frustrating, especially since all the nails had to go back in place before Charlie brought me breakfast. He was happy someone had finally put me in my place, but not that this ability of mine could make me stand above him and his friends in the hierarchy of the tribe. Like I cared. The ghost girl that was coaching me had revealed herself to be funny and smart. When we didn't talk about escaping plans, she wanted to know everything about my vampire family and Jasper. I missed them so much, but she was making the separation bearable. I had an ally with me all the time. Pity she didn't have a body.

When I removed the last nail, I kept myself from improvising a happy dance. My guardian angel was happy as well. She told me not to wait, that it was my occasion. I tore my sheets apart, so I could improvise a protection for my bare feet and hands, I put the money in a pocket and the knife in another. I tied up my hair so it wouldn't get in the way, and after a deep breath, I climbed out the window.. The fresh night air made me smile. It had been so long since I felt it on my face. Now I had to be extra careful… I spread my arms to keep my balance. I took one step at the time on the roof, trying to be silent and not terrified. The stair was near the end of the roof, like it had always been since I had started my friendship with Dave. There had been one near his window till a few years earlier, until Kim prohibited me to use it. He had probably put in there again, just in case, and everyone was so used to see it there that didn't think of moving it. I sighed happily once I was on the ground again, but I immediately ducked behind a car. My guards were taking turns to patrol the house, just in case the vampire decided to show up. And it seemed like the Cullens were trying to find a breach in the treaty line to reach La Push. I punctured the tires of their cars while they were inside talking about the patrol with the others, and then I ran. I ran like I had all the devils of hell behind me. What could I do with the money? Maybe I could buy a bus ticket and hide for a while. I couldn't go back to Forks, that would be the first place they would come looking for me. But I have to tell the Cullens first. I didn't want to cause them more problems.

I found a payphone, and after I dialed the number of Jasper's phone I sat on the bottom of the phone booth, shaking.

"Jasper?" I whispered when I heard his voice on the line.

"Bella? Bella is that you? Oh, thank God. Carlisle, it's her! Bella tell me where those damn rabid dogs took you, I'll be right there in a second."

He was relieved, scared and angry at the same time. And he knew the werewolves were behind it.

"I'm in the reservation," I said between the sobs, "I ran away a few minutes ago. Jasper, I'm scared to death…"

"We are all coming to get you. Go in the woods, leave fake trails with your smell if you can. We'll meet you half way. And for God's sake, Bella, run. I love you."

"I love you too," I whispered before hanging up.

I did what he told me to do. I ran in the forest, and I tied the pieces of the sheets to some rocks, so I could throw them in different directions and confound my former captors. It seemed a good idea, but I didn't keep enough tissue on my feet. They started to bleed after a while, leaving a trail they wouldn't certainly miss… I ignored the pain, and kept running, even after I heard the werewolves howling in rage. They knew. 

Oh God, they knew. I thanked God for all the adrenaline that was running in my body, and ran even faster. My heart was going to explode, and my lungs were burning, but I knew that I couldn't stop… if they took me back, I'd never had a chance to escape again.

Now I could feel the wolves coming closer and closer to me. I had almost lost the little advantage I had on them. Where was I? Was I near the treaty line? I didn't know anything anymore…

Then I felt a strong pain in my left arm. My arm broke under the jaws of a black, giant wolf. I don't know how I managed to free myself, but Dave's knife was now in the paw of the monster who was now howling in pain. I ran again, holding my injured arm with the good one, but soon after, I saw other two wolves running after me. One of them jumped. I screamed in horror. The impact was violent… I hit my head against some rocks on the ground, I could feel the blood pouring from my head. The last thing I remembered was the wolf growling at me. Then nothing. Maybe my time was up, this time for good. I let go and hoped to die. I was just sorry I would never see Jasper again...

**Jasper**

That scream, Bella's scream, made us all shiver. We were closer than we thought but we ran even faster than before. We had smelled human blood. Bella's blood. I clenched my fists… If someone, anyone had hurt her, they would die slowly and painfully…

And then we saw her laying motionless on the ground, with blood pouring from her head, her feet and hands wounded and bleeding… her broken arm. And that werewolf over her, growling at her face. I ran faster than I could and I hit him full force, making him go away. The wolf tried to attack me, but Emmett and Rosalie covered my back. They were keeping the wolf far from Bella and us. Thank God we were inside our territory. Bella did it.

Esme was the picture of rage, but ran to Bella to see her conditions. Carlisle immediately did the same and he immediately started attending to her. He was muttering medical terms to himself while touching her head and injuries. I didn't dare detach my eyes from her. I prayed for Bella to open her eyes, but she never regained consciousness.

"We have to take her to the hospital. Quickly."

"Will she make it?"

The trembling voice belonged to Bella's friend, Dave. He wasn't the wolf who attacked her… I looked at the other men in the woods next to him. I knew only one of them, I saw his picture in Bella's house. That was her brother. Charlie. I recognized him as the wolf that was over Bella when we arrived.

"No thanks to you, dog," I hissed, looking at Charlie. "What kind of beast are you? You almost killed _your own sister_!"

"Better dead than with you, leech."

I growled. I was ready to attack, to kill that insensitive man, that horrible person that incredibly shared the same blood as Bella, when Carlisle stopped me. Bella needed all our attention, and I didn't want to get my hands dirty with him.

"We'll take her to Seattle General," said Carlisle to Dave, and he carefully took her in his arms, ready to run home. Part of Esme's sleeves were now on her head and feet as makeshift gauzes, to stop the bleeding. Bella never looked so fragile in my eyes. I was terrified at the thought of losing her.

But if I did, Charlie Black would pay with his life.


	9. Life

**Carlisle**

It had been hours since we took her to the hospital, but Bella never regained consciousness. Once at the hospital, I started to attend to her wounds with my colleagues, and we immediately did an MRI. Her head trauma worried us, especially because she never opened her eyes.

Jasper was desperate, but no one was angrier than Esme. Bella was her child, and someone had put her child's life in danger. If I hadn't stopped her, I knew she would've killed that werewolf without hesitation.

I still remembered clearly when Jasper told us he hadn't found Bella in her house and that there was a strange message on her door about her unlikely return to the reservation. He had smelled at least one werewolf, and it had been there just a couple of hours before his arrival. Jasper was beyond rage. He wanted to attack the werewolves, to go to La Push and free Bella on his own. Trying to reason with him was hard but not impossible in the end. We decided to try and find a breach in the treaty line, a place not patrolled by the werewolves all the time... but they knew we would go for that strategy, and they closed their ranks.

It was like hitting our heads against a brick wall. But we never stopped trying… and then, we received that phone call. My Bella is no damsel in distress, Jasper had said with a small, relieved smile when he closed that call. She definitely wasn't. To try and escape a pack of werewolves on their own territory you had to be incredibly smart or incredibly stupid. And our Bella was definitely in the first category.

The exam results weren't good: Bella had a subdural hematoma that was compressing her brain. An operation was necessary, but the neurosurgeon needed the family consent to operate on Bella's brain, and there was no time to fabricate proofs that we were her family, legal guardians, or something like that. That was why I felt happy and relieved to see that Dave had passed the message to Jacob Black and the others, and they decided to show up. I had to calm down, though. I got too affectionate to Bella in the months she had spent with us; maybe I didn't see her as a daughter but surely she had become a member of my family. Looking at the people responsible for her conditions made me feel relieved I was in a place where I couldn't use my vampire abilities.

"Your daughter is in coma. She has a severe subdural hematoma that is compressing her brain," I said icily to the one Dave presented as Jacob Black. "The surgeon needs the family's consent to operate."

"Will she be fine?"

"I hope so. But this injury is serious. She could die if we don't act soon."

I watched Jacob sign the module, and after I took it back I immediately told a nurse to alert the OR and Doctor Lane, my friend and the hospital's finest neurosurgeon, for a craniotomy. I was walking away, when Jacob talked to me.

"Haven't you Cullens done enough damage with her mother? You had to put her life in danger too?"

I was going to reply, but I saw Esme getting up from her chair and coming closer to us. I gave her a warning look, but she ignored me.

"Put Bella in danger?" She said, every word heavy with barely repressed rage. "Her own _brother_ broke her arm and fractured her skull! You kidnapped her, kept her segregated for weeks… and yet we are the bad guys in this story. I love Bella as she truly was my daughter. Her own mother told us to look after her... Yes, Jacob Black, you heard me right. And if I see you here again, I swear I'll tear you and your pack apart with my hands."

Esme touched my arm and said she would go sit outside the OR, along with the others. One of the werewolves tried to get closer to Esme, but the leader, Sam, blocked him. They left, and they never returned. Not even Dave, but I knew it wasn't his choice.

The operation took almost two hours but it went well. We were all gathered at her bedside, waiting for her to open her eyes. Jasper didn't leave her for a second since they brought her back in her room. He was desperate not to lose again the woman he loved. And then, a couple of days later, Bella finally woke up.

**Bella**

If I hadn't felt the pain, I would've thought I was dreaming. All the Cullens were around me. Emmett and Rosalie were smiling broadly at me. Esme was dry sobbing against Carlisle's chest, but I could see a smile on her face. Jasper was holding my hand, and he leaned in to kiss my forehead.

"Welcome back, my love."

Even smiling caused me pain. Damn.

"My head hurts…"

"It's normal. You had an operation. But I'm sure Carlisle can get you something for the pain."

"Operation?"

I slowly raised my good arm to graze the gauzes around my head. I was too happy to be alive to ask what the hell happened to my hair. Better not to know yet.

"I ran faster than I could."

"You did. I'm proud of you, we all are. Now you have to rest. We'll stay here with you."

"It's becoming a bad tradition… me in a bed injured and you obliged to take care of me."

Emmett laughed. "You kidding? Reminds us of the good old times with your Mom! But I think you have now established a new record here. Bella never had something like that."

"Wow… I'm flattered, Emmett, really" I grimaced, half of annoyance, half of pain.

Carlisle decided it was time to leave me alone, and gave me something to sleep. Esme kissed my cheek and told me how happy she was that I finally woke up. Before falling asleep, I caught a glimpse of a cute, pixie-like girl with spiked dark hair sitting cross-legged in one of the chairs. She was smiling.

I knew it. It was her. The ghost that helped me escape. She winked to me; I gave her a sleepy smile, and closed my eyes.

* * *

In the following days, after the doctors had told me how lucky I had been at least a million times, the reality of what had happened hit me. I never considered La Push my favorite place in the world, but I never considered it a dangerous place either. And same was for the people. My own brother had almost killed me. My father and his friends kept me prisoner against my will, and everyone knew it in the reservation, I was sure.

According to the doctors, I was close to falling into depression. I couldn't tell… I never felt so empty before. Never felt so betrayed. Jasper and his family never left me alone, and I was so grateful of that, but the werewolves caused me wounds to my spirit that would need a lot of time to heal. I realized it as soon as the Cullens brought me back home from the hospital. A second after I was inside, I panicked and started crying 

against Jasper's chest, begging him to take me away. Before I knew it, my things were all packed and we were on the way to the Cullen residence. Esme's wish had been granted in the end. From that moment on, I would live with them.

Too weak to fight them, I let them spoil me with whatever would come into their minds. I had to be careful not to mention anything in particular; there was the concrete risk to see my wish materializing in a matter of minutes.

But the better part of all this situation was that now I lived under the same roof with Jasper. He still treated me like I was some kind of precious object made of Venetian glass, but we were making steps forwards in our relationship. He wasn't embarrassed anymore about sharing a bed with me, and I loved falling asleep in his arms at the sound of his voice. Esme didn't exactly approve of our behavior, but she just begged us not to do anything stupid or potentially dangerous for me. In that occasion, I think I blushed for the both of us. I was thinking of 'that' often, since Carlisle declared me completely healed. I knew of the risks that comported being so close to a being so strong and invulnerable, but I also knew that there was nothing I wanted more, nothing, than belong to Jasper in every possible way a woman could belong to a man, spiritually and physically. Nothing… except one thing.

Immortal life scared me to death… in that I was different from my mother. She would've embraced it without a doubt, if that meant living with her love forever. Jasper knew what I thought, and he agreed with me. He wanted me to live a nice, complete human life, and I wanted to live it with him. He didn't care if he had had to pass as my husband, son, or grandson, and neither did I. Nothing would tear us apart. Of that I was sure… since I had received Alice's blessing.

When I recognized her as my ghost friend, I was terrified she had come looking for me to torment me for all eternity because I was in love with her husband. She laughed at me, and told me the truth about the vision she had of me all those years before.

"Bella thought I had seen you as a baby. That wasn't entirely true. I also saw you with Jasper… during your wedding day. Lovely dress, by the way. I didn't understand at first… but then I saw my own death and everything became clear."

"So it's… fine? I mean, doesn't this bother you?"

Alice gave me a bad look. "Bella, I'm dead, for the second time in my life. Jasper isn't. I want him to be happy, and I know you'll make him happy. Stop worrying, ok?"

"Fine. Alice, listen… have you seen someone else I might want to talk to, during your time as a ghost?"

"You mean your mother?"

"And Edward."

"It's not the time."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Alice disappeared, and I groaned. She did it every time. How could someone so tiny be so annoying? She also made me swear not to tell anyone she was still around; more fun this way, she had said.

* * *

Part of the spoiling process started by the Cullens, I discovered before my graduation, included my admission to Dartmouth. Everyone envied me at school now. Me, one of the cool girls… who would've thought it possible. My hair was still too short after the operation, but Esme, being her usual adorable self, had kept my hair and made a wig out of it, so no one would notice the difference. And no one did. But sometimes, when I was alone, I took off the wig in front of a mirror and touched the scars the surgery left on my head, a perpetual memento of the reason why living with a vampire coven was a billion times better than living with my human family.

Alice was more excited than usual for my graduation; a bad sign, in my opinion. She knew what the family had in store for me, but she refused to tell me. And to top off the situation, she told me she had a surprise for me too, and that I would receive it on graduation day. Enough to scare me to death.

And I was right to be scared. My poor Volvo had been replaced overnight by a shiny, dark red, brand new Chevy Camaro, a gift from Rosalie, Emmett and Carlisle. Esme gave me a pretty silver and pearl necklace with matching penchant earrings from Tiffany ('a local jewelry store', according to Esme. Yeah, right) and Jasper… well, let's say that day he went shopping with Esme. And when I ran in my room immediately to wear the necklace and earrings, he followed me and gave me his gift.

We had both agreed that we would wait till my college graduation before getting married, but we both know we wouldn't change our minds or have second thoughts about our relationship. So accepting and wearing his engagement ring was definitely not a problem for me. Quite the opposite… I proudly showed it to everyone! Except Dave. Dave wasn't allowed to see me anymore since I had been officially disowned from daughter, sister and Quileute by the Council.

Alice was the one to keep me posted on what happened in the tribe. The fact she could go there without the werewolves knowing amused her to no end. Leah had moved in with my father, in the end. Dave and Julie were preparing the wedding. Julie was pregnant... but her friend, Grace Uley, refused to be her bridesmaid and never left her house in these days. She was always crying. Weird, but not my problem. I didn't care anymore for the reservation dramas.

And finally, here we were. Graduation day. Carlisle and Esme escorted me in Carlisle's Mercedes, like two proud parents, and the rest of the family followed in Rosalie's car. I admired my beautiful engagement ring all the time, under Esme's amused yet satisfied look. I kept on doing it even during the ceremony. What could I say? I was happy. Four years from now, I would be Bella Whitlock Hale. Rosalie would become my fake sister-in-law. I would officially gain a brother and two loving parents… and we all found the idea of me pretending to be Carlisle's mother at some point in my life deeply amusing.

Everything was perfect; so, I was waiting for a catastrophe to happen.

Or not. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Dave running to me with no shoes and wearing torn jeans and a ruined shirt. He had to have secretly ran from La Push to here in his werewolf form. For me.

He gave me a bear hug, lifting me from the ground.

"Bells, I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too. It's so wonderful to see you today."

"How could I miss this day? Congrats, Bella!"

I hugged him tightly. He smelled so good… like wind, and earth and the forest. Did all the werewolves smell so good?

"I'm sorry I didn't come to the hospital or later at the Cullen's. Sam ordered me to stay away… you know how it is, I can't disobey his orders. And the pack gave me an hard time… especially because Charlie recognized the knife you used to stab him in the paw."

"He deserved it."

"Damn right you are. Listen, I'm sorry but I have to go… I don't know how much time I have left before they discover my absence…"

"Traitor," growled Charlie coming near us with Jacob, Leah, Josh and Sam. I clenched my fists and shot a death glare to everyone, while trying to see where the Cullens were. I didn't want this to become a bloodbath.

"You have guts to show up here, I'll give you that," I growled at my brother. I knew everyone was looking at my necklace and earrings, at the nice dress I was wearing, and especially at the shiny engagement ring on my hand. Everything screamed that I was one of them, now… and totally proud to be. Enough to make some certain werewolves in front of me shake with rage.

"Well, look at you," he sarcastically said.

"Fine. You saw me. Don't let me keep you."

"Like we wanted to be here," said Leah.

"Don't talk to me, bitch."

"Don't talk to my mother like that!"

"And what about my mother, Josh? I pray she never discovered the truth the way I did… yes, Daddy, I knew you were sleeping with Leah all the time. What can I say? You deserve each other."

Charlie and Josh made a step forward, but Dave stepped in front of me, growling.

"Touch her again, Charlie and you'll have to run with three legs."

"God. Men and their testosterone."

Alice, next to me, rolled dramatically her eyes and made me giggle, lightening the situation. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy.

"Sorry," and I pointed at the void at my right. "Work. It's not the right time, Alice."

"Alice? Who's Alice?" asked Dave.

"A ghost friend," I said, trying not to laugh at their faces.

What? All that time trying to make me embrace my 'destiny' and no one but Sam really believed I could do it? Nice.

"Sorry, Alice, where were we?"

"She wants to talk to them too. Now."

"She? What do you mean?"

Alice pointed at a figure dressed in white that was coming in my direction. My mouth stayed open in shock. Alice was right: that I would never see it coming. Never. And yet, there was no one I would have loved to see today more than her. Bella Swan. My mother.

I realized I was crying only when I felt the tears rolling down my neck. She was crying too.

"Well… you made it Alice. Great surprise," I whispered.

"I'm happy you like it," said Alice, with her musical laugh.

For the first time ever I could look at my mother in the eyes. I hoped not to faint for the shock. But Mom was already looking at Jacob and Leah with hate, and I realized why my mother wanted to have a talk with them.

"You sure about that?" I told her.

"I want to speak with them first, darling," said Bella. "I don't want to ruin this day for you with my anger."

I gave a look to my father, and sighed. "Mom is here. She wants to talk with you. And she's livid. Maybe your girlfriend and bastard son can leave?"

"You're making things up," said Charlie.

Like hell. Mom told me exactly what to say to make them believe I was telling the truth. I saw their faces go from doubt to realization and even fear. Sam had always been right about me: I had the gift. For a change I was the one in control. Me… the disowned princess of the tribe. Revenge was sweet.

I repeated word by word what my mother wanted to tell Jacob and Leah, and she was right: her resentment for the way I was raised, for Jacob's betrayal and illegitimate son, were too big to be repressed anymore. They couldn't deny the truth in her words, just listen in silence. Dave stayed by my side all the time, and he was the only one to say goodbye to me. I watched them go, and finally, finally I felt that part of my life was closed for good. Mom stayed with me all day, she gave me a dubious look when I showed her the engagement ring, but all in all she was happy to see the person I had become, and to know the Cullens were looking after me like I was a member of the family. But there was a question I had to ask her.

"Alice told me she basically watched over me since I was a baby. But… were where you?"

Bella took a sad expression.

"I had to be somewhere else."

"But where? What was more important than your daughter?"

The only thing that in my opinion was more important than me to my mother was Edward. Maybe she spent all those years looking for him?

"Were you looking for Edward? I would understand if it was this. I'd do the same if I lost Jasper…" and I gave a sorry look to Alice, who rolled her eyes and told me for the umpteenth time that she was ok with that.

She smiled. "We could say that, yes."

"Any luck?"

"I have all the time in the world, but yes, I think I'm close."

"She's quite stubborn," Alice said.

"Look who's talking."

"Why don't you come and say hello to the others?" I said. "Carlisle and the others would be so happy to talk to you one more time. That would mean explain to them why I can talk with ghosts, but who cares about that…"

"They would also be sad. I don't want to fuel bad memories, not today," said Bella, and Alice nodded.

"As you wish," I said. They disappeared soon after, promising they would come back soon, and I joined the rest of the Cullens. I didn't like keeping things from them, but I wasn't still sure what to do with this talent of mine. Talking with Alice and Mom was fine but what if one day I'd have to face someone evil? Someone I didn't want to listen to or help? What would I do then? I took a deep breath and imposed myself to stop thinking of it. Today was my graduation, and it was a good day. I would start thinking about my problems tomorrow.

God knew how I had managed to convince the Cullens I didn't want a graduation party. I convinced them, though, to take me with them to Denali for the summer, to meet the famous Irina, Tanya, Carmen, Kate and Eleazar.

We packed and left that same night. I sighed a little, thinking of my beloved Volvo now abandoned in some second-hand car park all alone, but I had to say… that Camaro was really amazing. And fast, quite the mandatory requisite for a car to be driven by a Cullen. Which I was, under all the aspects that counted. Maybe I wasn't a vampire, but I had finally found my place in the universe. A place that wasn't a place, because when you have a family you don't need a place to belong, not as song as you can count on them.

I smiled at my fiancé, and started the engine. The best part of that new phase of my life? That night marked the official beginning of Jasper and my's life together as an engaged couple.

The rainy days were over… now it was time for the sun (metaphorically speaking). And I simply couldn't wait for what was yet to come.

* * *

**Hello, everyone! I know this one sounds like it could be the end, but there are still two chapters to go. And I've saved the two biggest twist of the fic for them, so be warned ; )**

**And news #2… I proudly announce this fic will have a sequel! More on this in the next chapters.**

**Come on now, hit the 'review' button… you know you want to ; )**


	10. Death

One year later

**Bella**

I looked at my empty room in the campus, smiling. Almost everything was already on its way to Forks but me... and it was something I would put remedy to soon enough. My first year of college had ended the day before, and I was excited at the thought of going home for the summer. My roommate, Sarah, always said that she had no idea how I could feel nostalgic with the amount of family photographs I had in my part of the room. But I did… I was nostalgic about Emmett and our endless matches with the Playstation; of the time spent with Rosalie learning how to fix cars; of Esme, and her infinite patience with me and my tomboy attitude, since she had decided she would made a real lady out of me; of Carlisle, the best adoptive father I could dream of, and especially of Jasper, my fiancé, my love, and the reason why I spent an entire year with a goofy smile on my face no matter what.

I was so worried my new car would stand out, when I first came there (escorted by the entire family, of course; the price to pay for being the youngest Cullen) after the wonderful summer I had spent in Denali… Well, after half a second I was there, I noticed there were cars even more expensive than mine. I was also terrified that I wasn't smart enough for that place, but thank God my inferiority complex disappeared after the first month. I made some friends, and after that, I enjoyed every single second of my new life as an undergrad student.

While I was putting away the photographs of me and the Denali clan ('my cousins that live in Alaska', according to my roommate and the rest of the world), I couldn't resist calling Tanya. I wanted to ask her if I could go to Denali and stay for a week or so during the summer vacations… I fell in love with that place and the natural reserve the previous summer, and the girls and I became good friends, once the shock of my presence in the Cullen coven had worn off. And the less sun my skin would take, the better. I got scorched during a ten-minute walk in the campus, for God's sake!

Tanya answered the phone before the first ring ended. "Bella, darling!"

"Hi, Tanya! How are things in Denali?"

"Nothing new… Why are you calling? Is something wrong?"

"Just checking if I still have some right on your guest room. I'd love to come visit you and your sisters for a week or so this summer… if it's not a problem. Forks is too sunny for me in this season."

Tanya laughed hard. "Forks? _Sunny_? Bella, you've spent too much time in that fancy college of yours. You've forgotten what Forks is really like."

"Haha. Ironically much, you're not the one that has to go out after sunset in summer."

"And this thing will never cease to amuse me. So… you coming here straight from college or you'll stop to say hello to Mom and Dad first?"

I laughed at the reference to Carlisle and Esme. It was our inside joke. And by the way, I loved calling Esme 'Mom'… but never as much as Esme loved to hear that word coming from me. I said I would go to Forks first, and she started teasing me about me and Jasper. And I couldn't even protest… Tanya was the one to have found us in a… well… 'really inappropriate situation' in the living room because we thought we had the house to ourselves. She didn't tell Esme, and that was probably the reason why Jasper was still alive. Or Carlisle, and that was probably the reason why I wasn't living in a convent. They took our four-year engagement quite seriously. More seriously than us, that for sure, because we never actually thought of waiting till our wedding night or something… but seemed like _someone_ expected us to. But since the damage was already done, so to speak, we had to pay extra attention not to be caught. And Tanya found our subterfuges to stay together quite amusing.

I had already warned everyone about my intention of taking a road trip on the way back, and strangely enough, they let me do it. Like they knew I wouldn't exactly be alone. For a moment I panicked and wondered if they knew about my friendship with Alice, but how could they?

Alice had been my shadow during this first year of college. I had to blame – or thank – her for all the crazy things I had done with my new friends. Alice wanted me to make the most of this experience, but I had never been a party girl. I loved books and stuff… but I did my best to please her, and I didn't repent it. We would take that trip together. I hoped my mother would join us, but I knew that until she found Edward, her spirit would never find peace. Still, I had the impression that Alice knew more about that story than she had actually told me. Anyway, the moment I pushed down the accelerator, I forgot my problems and enjoyed the trip.

It didn't take me long to arrive in the Washington state (thank God, no police… I was driving a _little_ faster than licit, to be home sooner), and I was smiling at the thought of Emmett losing the bet: he was sure I couldn't make it on my own and that the legendary bad luck I had inherited from my mother would manifest sooner or later. I was already imagining his defeated face and the pair of shoes I would buy with his money, when I punctured a tire. I cursed loudly, and I stopped the car by the end of the street to change the tire, thinking that thanks to Rosalie, now I could do faster and better than a mechanic. But my bad luck struck again. And I punctured _another_ tire. I groaned, and called the number of the only mechanic I knew, one just outside La Push. I could've called Rosalie, but I was adamant in not letting Emmett win that bet.

Once my car was at the body shop, they told me it would take a while to find the exact tire needed for the Camaro, so I went to the diner across the road to order something to eat while I was waiting. I knew it was an excuse to drool at my car, I had heard a couple of mechanics whispering to get pictures with my car before doing the job. Apart from me and the Cullens, no one drove cars like that in the surroundings…

"You have guts to show your face around here again, vampire-lover."

I took out my sunglasses and smiled, turning to face Josh Clearwater. "And hello to you too. Long time no see… brother."

Josh and his friends were looking at me with deep hate in their eyes. They had to be all werewolves, but I didn't recognize any of their faces. In his sporadic phone calls, Dave told me something about the pack growth, but I didn't listen… I was more interested in what he wasn't saying to me. He sounded like… well, like me while I was still living in La Push. Weird.

"Still human, huh? Your leech doesn't think you're good enough for him?"

"Don't talk of things you don't understand."

"No one misses you in La Push. It's like you never existed."

My heart started beating faster, but I kept smiling.

"Tell that to someone who cares, 'cause I don't."

"Careful, Bella. You are in no position to talk like this to us."

"Oh God, I'm so scared," I said feigning fear.

If I had known in advance what that day had in store for me, I wouldn't have needed to pretend. But how could I know? I had spent an entire year away from there. I didn't know a thing about the new additions to the pack, or what they knew about me. I just assumed that everyone, like me, had put everything behind their backs and moved on with their lives. But the Quileutes had good memories, and an uncanny ability to hold grudges. I just didn't know yet how dangerous this could be.

Everyone in the body shop was too nice to me, but I didn't think it was weird. I was a girl with a beautiful car, and in Washington, this combination was a powerful magnet for men of all age, all immediately discouraged by the 8-carat diamond on my ring finger. And the guys there had repaired my Volvo more times that I wanted to remember. I trusted them. When they offered to check my car, I didn't see anything wrong. Alice was nervous, though. She had a bad feeling.

Once I was back on the road, I pressed the accelerator and the car jolted forward. I was used to driving fast. I loved speed. Everyone knew that. Josh Clearwater and the guys at the shop were no exception.

I remembered it when the brakes stopped working a few minutes later.

My heart raced while my hands clutched the wheel so strong it hurt, trying to keep control of the car. There was nothing I could do, but cry and scream in fear. I was going to die. This time no one would save me.

I didn't remember the impact with the trees. It all happened so fast I almost didn't notice. One moment I was in a car, the moment later my car was a smoking metal trap that was losing gas. I couldn't move. I couldn't stay conscious. Every bone in my body hurt, probably because they were broken.

I was going to die. And I was going to die alone.

Someone in La Push seemed to think I deserved it, for betraying my blood, my destiny, my heritage and daring to put my foot on their territory, now that I was living with their sworn enemies and probably thinking of joining their ranks.

Someone down there was cheering in that moment…

* * *

**Emmett**

I was checking the watch every five minutes; enough for Rose to kick me out of the room, annoyed like hell. And Rosalie was scary when she was angry. But what could I say? I really couldn't wait to have my little sister home! And I couldn't wait to win the bet. And to beat her at Halo. I trained. Lots of hours spent playing with that game during this entire year. Now I was sure I would beat her. HA!

I was so full of energy that Esme suggested me to go out for a run or for a quick hunt, while she finished preparing the food she had bought for Bella. Esme had always been our mother figure, but seeing the way she looked after Bella really warmed my heart. She would have made such a great mom. Pity she hadn't had that chance before dying.

Anyway, I went hunting. I was searching the woods for a nice, angry bear, when I heard the distinctive smell of gas and smoke. And blood. Lots of blood. I froze when I realized I knew that smell. That blood belonged to Bella. I started running in the direction the smell came, and what I saw when I finally arrived there… the car didn't exist anymore. And Bella was trapped inside, unconscious. I looked at the tank: it was question of minutes, even less, before the car would be set on fire. I tore apart the metal and the seat belt, and I took her out just in time.

The car was now in flames, but I couldn't care less. Bella was barely breathing. Her legs were broken. And God knew what kind of injuries she had inside.

"Don't worry, little one," I whispered, taking her in my arms and running home the fastest I could. "Carlisle will make you feel better. Wait and see. He's used to patching you up by now… Resist, Bella. Resist."

**Carlisle**

Bella's conditions looked dire since the beginning. When Emmett brought Bella inside and Esme screamed for me, I immediately ran out of my office to see what had happened, and I ordered them to take her in her room, telling Esme and Rosalie to keep Jasper away from there. I didn't want him to see her like that. Esme wanted to take her to the hospital but her conditions were simply too serious. And we knew Bella didn't want to become one of us. That was it. Bella was dying. And there was nothing I could do. We could just watch her die and make sure she didn't suffer.

Jasper didn't say a word when he saw her like that. He sat by her bed and took her hand in his. Bella opened her eyes, and Jasper smiled at her, trying not to look sad. But I knew he was dying inside once more.

**Jasper**

I wished I could cry. It was cruel that I could feel such pain and have no way to show it. Bella, my Bella, was dying in front of me, and I could do nothing. Carlisle was going to gave her some morphine, but Bella said no. She didn't want it. She opened her eyes and looked at me.

"I'm not ready to go," she whispered. "I think I could but I'm not strong enough… I can't leave you now… I know I was scared… but I'm not scared anymore."

I looked at the others and then at her, bewildered. Bella had changed her mind? I didn't want this life for her… but the egotistical side in me was rejoicing. Bella would be with me forever. I would love her and protect her forever.

"Bella, my love, are you sure?"

"She saw our wedding… it's meant to be. My death isn't. Please… Don't let me die this way. I want that future… the way she had described it."

I was going to ask her what she meant with those words, but Carlisle stepped closer and gave her the morphine dose Bella had first rejected.

"Bella… I want you to listen to me. I know you're in lot of pain, but it's going to become much, much worse in the next hours. I'll give you as much narcotics as I can to ease the process, but I can't guarantee you won't suffer."

Bella nodded. Carlisle examined her condition again, and decided it would be best if he bit her on the neck. I nodded in approval, the poison would enter her bloodstream faster. Carlisle asked to be left alone, and I reluctantly accepted. That would be the one and only moment I wouldn't be with her during the change, I swore to myself.

**Carlisle**

When I was finally alone with Bella, I took a moment to let the narcotics do their job. Then I sat on the bed and put Bella in a sitting position. She clenched her teeth and moaned in pain when I let her lean against my body. She was like a doll broken beyond repair… If there had been a choice, another way to save her, I would've taken it… but biting her was the only way to save her life. I kissed her hair, and bared her neck.

"Are you ready, my child?"

Bella nodded. I closed my eyes, sighing, and I sank my teeth in her neck. Her blood was delicious, even if it was tainted by morphine... I thanked God my self-control was stronger than the beast inside of me. Bella wasn't a prey. She was going to become one of my immortal children. I already thought of her like that.

I stopped drinking her blood, and I gently laid her back on her bed.

"It will start soon. Save the strength you have left, you're going to need it."

"How long will it take, Carlisle?"

"Three days,'" I said, removing a streak of hair from her face. "I'll try and make it as painless as I can, Bella, I promise."

Bella nodded and closed her eyes, trying to rest while she still could. Esme and Jasper were waiting by the door, and they immediately entered the room after I left. We had to be ready. The next three days would be hard for everyone, and especially for Bella.

**Bella**

It was like having a horrible déjà vu of the first time I met the Cullens, when I had almost frozen to death. Esme literally got me out of my clothes and helped me wear something more comfortable; Jasper took my hand, using his power to calm me and whispered soothing words in my ear. I was breathing heavily and bit my lips hard to not scream. The fire… it was in my nerves, in my veins, everywhere in my body. Esme wiped away with a wet cloth the sweat from my brow, and she saw the blood coming out from my lips, where my teeth had sunk too deep in my flesh.

"Bella, don't. Scream if you have to. Don't do this to yourself."

Carlisle had given me another big dose of morphine, but it had no effect on the pain I was feeling. Or it did, and the pain I was feeling was dampened by the medications. One way or another, it was unbearable. At the end I gave up. I filled my lungs with all the air I could, and I started screaming.

I lost sense of time; between the excruciating pain and the morphine Carlisle kept on giving me, I had no idea of how long it had been since everything had started. Some time after Carlisle's bite, the broken bones in my legs had healed. I could move in the bed now, and somehow it gave me a little comfort. I cried all my tears in Jasper's arms; he didn't leave me, not even for one second.

And then, the pain stopped. It peaked, making me wish to die right there and then… then it started to fade, slowly and steady. With every wave of pain that left my body, I felt my heart slowing down some and the heat leaving my body. Suddenly I felt cold, and Jasper wrapped me in a blanket. He laid down next to me, he kept me in his arms and like me listened to my heartbeat slowing down till it stopped. I was still crying, but I felt my tears drying on my cheeks without feeling others coming out from my eyes. When I stopped shaking, Jasper slowly removed the blanket from my body, but didn't break the embrace. He was cradling me like a child, whispering me in my ear how much he loved me. On a normal day, I would've closed my eyes and fallen asleep at the sound of his voice… I loved that little ritual of ours. And now it was gone forever.

No one came to my room after I stopped screaming in pain. They knew I was with Jasper and they probably didn't want to disturb us. It took me a while to find the courage to get up and go downstairs, but Jasper made sure I was engulfed in a big stream of calm and quietness and never left my hand. I caught a glimpse of my eyes in a mirror. Ruby red. Once, they were sapphire blue. Another thing I knew I would miss.

For the second time in my life, the Cullens welcomed me in their family. I was happy… but I was also so confused. No, not the right word. I watched their serenity, their composure, and I felt _inferior_. If it wasn't for Jasper and the soothing feelings he made me feel, I knew I would have already run outside that door, looking for blood. It was the only thing I could think about. I could still taste blood – my blood, human blood – in my mouth, on my lips. It tasted incredibly good and I craved for more. I was craving for human blood. What kind of monster had I become? How could I fit in that perfect family now?

Jasper and the others noticed my discomfort, and they spent hours trying to reassure me. Emmett tried to make me laugh, telling me that he would immediately teach me where the good stuff was, but all he obtained was a weak smile. It was hard shaking off that horrible sensation.

Since the only one I could really stay close to without flinching was Jasper, he decided to be the one to take me hunting for the first time. I was relieved… but also scared to death. Showing this new side of me to my fiancé terrified me. Jasper seemed so calm and relaxed… he slowly explained what kind of animals there were in the forest, he taught me to recognize their smell and told me the best way to attack them. He was like a teacher explaining a new subject to his favorite pupil. It felt so… normal… and in that moment I was in desperate need for some normalcy.

But when I smelled my prey, all my good proposition went to hell. The beast inside me growled. Blood. I wanted blood. It all happened so quickly I didn't even know how my brain could have registered it. I looked at the bloody carcass at my feet that merely a few seconds earlier was a magnificent deer, and I couldn't help but look at my nails – claws – stained with blood. The same blood that was on my shirt, and that was at the corners of my mouth. I felt Jasper coming closer, and I immediately hid behind a tree. I didn't want him to see me like this.

"Bella."

"Go away!" I shouted, sobbing. God, I so wished I could still cry.

"Bella, please. You did nothing wrong."

He was near my tree now. He leaned against it, where I couldn't see him.

"I feel a monster. I don't want you to see me."

"Bella you're not a monster. You're a predator. It's our nature."

"I just killed a living creature."

"Would you prefer there was a human being in its place?"

The beast growled yes. I closed my eyes. "No."

I banged my head against the tree. "How can you stand being near me?"

"Bella, what are you talking about?"

I heard him move, but before I could run he was already in front of me, lifting my chin with his hand.

"I'm nothing like you. I can't control myself. I want to bite humans so badly… I tasted my blood, and it was so good… I want more. I know it's wrong but I want it. How can I live with your family if I behave like this?"

"Bella, love… the transition will be hard. I won't lie to you on this. And it'll take years before you will be strong enough to be near humans without feeling the instinct to kill them. But you will. You're too good and compassionate to let this thing rule you. I'll be with you with every step you'll take on this road. Let me help you, Bella. Please."

I let him cradle me against his chest until I calmed down and then he took me home. I just asked him not to let the rest of the family see me. I took a shower and changed my clothes. The reflection in the mirror was still one of a stranger, but at least this stranger now looked a little more like me. The eyes bothered me to no end. I really missed my blue eyes, and I couldn't wait for the color to change from red to golden. For the rest… now I would be finally able to stay in the same room with Rosalie without feeling my self-esteem go under my heels. My hair were now silky and perfectly straight, and I could swear I was thinner and slender than I was before, but with all the curves in the right places. I gave my perfect reflection a perplexed look.

What was I supposed to do now with all of this? I wasn't the type that loved to be at the center of attention… but if I looked like this – stunning, that is – in a plain v-neck shirt and jeans, I didn't dare to think of what I could look like properly dressed. I lowered my head, groaning.

Jasper saw me, and he came into my room to hug me from behind and look at my reflection with me.

"Feeling better?"

"Until I saw this, yes."

He gave me a puzzled look. "You look the same. Beautiful, that is."

"No, love. I don't look the same," I said, giving a glance at my chest. "I _definitely_ don't look the same."

He kissed my neck, barely hiding a smile. "And how is _that_ a bad thing?"

I looked at him, outraged. But just for a second. I started laughing with him immediately. I teased Jasper, asking him if he wanted to see what else of my body had changed, and before I knew it we were already on the bed, laughing and kissing each other, without caring if someone would hear us.

I was probably affected by a never diagnosed bipolar disorder. How could I feel so bad and then so good in so little time?

* * *

The day I was buried in La Push cemetery was also the day we crossed the border into Canada. The treaty was broken, even if the werewolves didn't know it yet. We couldn't stay any longer. I couldn't wait to see our new house, though. If Esme had renovated it like she had done with my grandfather's house, it had to be amazing. I wasn't happy that I hadn't been allowed to go to the graveyard, but since I knew they would do another memorial service for the one-year anniversary, I swore to myself to attend that one. They had buried an empty casket, but not because the flames incinerated me in the accident. And I wanted to make sure everyone would take a good look at my eyes, especially Jacob. I now refused to call him father. Carlisle was my father now, he had given me life and cared for me in ways Jacob never did.

That objective gave me the strength and the motivation to work like a madwoman on my self-control. Thanks to Jasper and his experience with the newborns, I made rapid progresses. I did in a year what most vampires achieved in five, according to him. He was really proud of me.

Now that we were the same, he had told me everything about his past. About Maria and the wars he had fought. My poor angel had suffered so much in his life… but I swore it would never happen again. And since he was being so sincere with me, I finally told him and the rest of the family what I could do. Emmett laughed and called me 'our little psychic ghostbuster,' provoking a laughing fit from everyone. Lovely. At least they weren't taking this thing so seriously like they did in La Push. For vampires, it was normal to have special gifts. Edward had been a mind-reader, after all, and Alice could see the future. And even if the others didn't have a power like mine or Jasper's, it didn't mean they haven't any. Carlisle's compassion, Esme's ability to love, Rosalie's tenacity and Emmett's force were just as extraordinary in my eyes.

Jasper tried to convince me up to five minutes before my departure not to go back to La Push. He didn't understand my need for revenge. Rosalie did, though, so she decided to come with me. She wanted to make sure I didn't end up doing something stupid. My newborn year was finally over, but I was still keen to rage outburst once in a while, and it was better for me to have someone near to keep me calm and focused. Maybe it was childish, but we stopped to go shopping on our way there: we wanted to go perfectly dressed in black from head to toe. It was a funeral, after all. Mine.

When I saw all the people gathered around my tomb, I started growling. Rosalie took my hand.

"Calm down, little sister."

"For the first time, I want to tear someone apart and not for feeding purposes. Does that make me a bad person?"

Rosalie watched me with an eloquent look. I knew her story too. I knew what she had done to the men that had raped her. The context was different, but the action behind it was the same: someone thought that hurting us, killing us was something that would never bring consequences. Royce and his friends had been wrong, and so were the werewolves. But I would never get my hands dirty the way Rosalie did. I just wanted to talk.

When the priest stopped talking and invited Jacob to say a few words, I wore my sunglasses and moved towards the wolves and the humans. I walked with confidence and elegance now, thanks to Rosalie. She knew how awkward I was towards my new aspect, and she had taken care of helping me reconcile with my mirror reflection in the same way Jasper had helped me keep my instinct under control. The wind started to blow gently, and I stopped. I knew it was a matter of seconds before Jacob and the others would smell me in the air.

Jacob stopped talking immediately, and looked straight at me. I smiled, deeply amused, and I removed my sunglasses.

"Oh, no, please… continue. I missed your speech last year, and I really, really want to know what you have to say about your poor, dead daughter."

Kim was going to faint; I felt sorry for her. And Dave. But I didn't care for anyone else. I knew everyone was looking at my chiffon dress, my high heels and the scarf I had draped around my shoulders. Except for the fact everything I was wearing was black, I looked like I was ready to walk on a runway or go to a garden party.

Everyone… but Jacob. He was looking at my golden eyes.

"Surprise. I didn't die after all."

"You're one of them."

"Sorry, but… did you really think there was another reason behind the Cullens' rushed departure? Because if you did, well… don't flatter yourself."

All the werewolves minus Dave were slowly moving towards me.

I growled at them. They stopped. Little helpless Bella was long gone. They couldn't hurt me anymore. Me on the other hand, I could still count of the remnants of human blood in me. I was more than a match for them.

"Don't give me a reason to hurt you. Any more reasons than the ones I have, that is. I really don't wanna ruin my new dress."

"What do you want, blood-sucker?" hissed Charlie.

"What do I want? I'd love to be in Dartmouth right now. Or have a heartbeat. I miss my heartbeat. But it's kind of difficult when someone sabotages your car and provokes the accident that led to this. Right Josh?"

"Like we believe your word, leech" laughed one of the guys that was with Josh at the diner.

"Oh no… I'm not telling you did it. What was it… a suggestion to your friends at the body shop? Yeah, a suggestion... You didn't know what they did, so you had nothing to hide. But it wasn't you, was it?" I said, looking at Charlie. It was my best theory on the accident. Josh hated me because Charlie hated me, with such passion it was almost scary. And he had already tried to kill me once...

"If Emmett didn't go hunting, I would be down there for real. Thank God he's always hungry. But I digress…" I said, now talking directly to my father. "What I wanted never mattered to you, Jacob. And I'm happy I'll never have to call you father anymore. You disowned me? Well, now I'm disowning _you_. But… you know the best thing of all this situation? Now I'll walk out of this place, and I'll forget about you. All of you. But I know that from now on, you'll never forget about me. Have a nice day…" I said, wearing again my sunglasses, "…mine surely will be. Carry on."

Rose smiled in approval when I reached her. "Well done."

"Just… let's get the hell out of here. I want to go home before those dogs decide to attack us. I made them pretty angry."

"If they wanted to fight they would be already in the right place, actually…"

We exchanged a little smile, and we walked to Carlisle's Mercedes. I was so going to buy a car like this for my birthday.

"Bella, please wait!"

Rosalie looked at Dave, that was running towards us, and gave me a warning glare. "Five minutes, Bella."

I nodded. Dave was now taller and bigger than I remembered. There was little in him that remembered me of my friend now. And I knew he was thinking the same thing of me. But I could see the relief in his face in seeing me again. Maybe we changed appearances, but what we had inside stayed the same.

"They're gonna give you hell for this."

"I climbed the ranks, they can't. Or, at least, Charlie and Josh can't."

"Oh. Good for you."

"Are you happy, Bella? Really?"

I smiled. "Yes, I am. Really."

"What about that iceberg on your hand?"

I laughed and showed him the ring. "We'll marry as soon as I'll be able to walk down the aisle without killing someone. I'm sorry I missed your wedding."

Dave became sad all of sudden. "You didn't miss anything. Julie…"

Before I could ask for an explanation, I saw the other werewolves coming closer.

"Time's up, sis. Let's go," said Rosalie, already behind the wheel.

I immediately got in the car.

"Check the mail, once you're home," I said, before leaving.

"What?" I heard him ask, but Rosalie hit hard the accelerator and the Mercedes immediately jolted forward.

"Rose!"

"Don't start. And if your wolf friend is smart like you keep telling me, he'll figure it out by himself."

I hoped he found the envelope I left on his desk. I couldn't bear to lose my only friend… maybe it was a risk, but I gave him my number. It was inside another envelope on which I had written 'open only in case of a real emergency'. If he was smart he would wait at least six months before open it. Maybe more. Good thing I had all the time in the world.

I relaxed in my seat, and sighed. Rosalie had a big smile, and that made me shiver.

"No."

"Yes. You need to start looking for a wedding dress. And I just know the right place…"

Rosalie and Esme were already planning my wedding. I had been really reluctant to start talking about this so much in advance, but they insisted that planning a wedding required a lot of time, and with my good self-control we could rush things without problem; in the end I surrendered and we started discussing flowers, places, music, dresses and stuff. Rosalie took me hunting just so we would be sure I wouldn't feel tempted by the other brides in the store, and an hour and half later I was already inside my third wedding dress, with Rosalie that was helping me with the veil, and Alice, that always behaved like she was my invisible personal stylist.

I smiled at my reflection. Alice looked at my dress and nodded in approval. Rosalie said I was radiant, and it was true. In six months maximum, I'd marry Jasper, and I couldn't be happier.

I should've known that the usual unforeseeable twist was just around the corner.


	11. Reunion

**Bella**

One week, just seven days before my wedding, my world was turned upside down. How much, I would realized only years later.

One week. Seven days. Lots of things could happen in seven days. I almost died, I met the Cullens and I fell in love with my future husband in seven days or less! So I should have waited with my eyes wide open for something to happen. _Anything_. But this time I was so sure that nothing would ruin my plans… To my defense, there was no way I could've predicted it. It came out of nowhere. Quite literally.

I was alone in the house, and I was wearing for the billionth time my wedding dress to see if it would need other modifications. Thanks to Rosalie I had developed all kinds of wedding-related neurosis. I lowered my eyes for a second and when I looked at the mirror again I saw Alice's reflection in it.

I jumped in fear. "God, Alice! You scared me!"

Alice was completely shocked. Scared, even. What could possibly reduce her like that, I had no idea… but it certainly couldn't be anything good. And then she said three words I'd never imagine I'd hear.

"Edward is alive."

I stared at her with my mouth wide open. For a few minutes I wasn't able to talk.

"How? You told me he was dead! You died together, for God's sake!"

"I died first. I didn't remember, though. And I didn't know what I was and where I was, I was so confused back then and…"

"Ok. Ok. Calm down. What changed?"

"Bella. She found him. And she came running to tell me, so I could tell you. She's with him now. You have to save him."

"Save him? How? On my own? Alice, I'm practically still a newborn!"

"They're talking about killing him! Bella, please, I'm begging you. You have to leave now. If you tell them, you'll never make it on time! You have to leave now!"

"They? Who are they?"

"The Volturi. They were really interested in his power. Edward didn't join them, but they hoped he would, sooner or later, so they kept him imprisoned, waiting for him to change his mind... he never did. And now their patience has run out."

"The... the Volturi?"

I knew little about them, but enough to scare me. Our royal family... the oldest and powerful vampires in the planet... and I had to waltz in their city and free one of their prisoners without them noticing? Alice was crazy, now I had proof!

"Alice, I'm no match for them! I can't stand a fight!"

"Bella, he's my brother. He's your brother too if you think about it. And when we're there you'll realize why you're the only person that can save him. Bella, please… we have to go now."

I gave a longing look at my reflection, and I took off my wedding dress. I packed a bag, took some money and my new passport (I refused to use the surname Black now, so all my documents referred to me as Bella Cullen), and I wrote a message to Jasper.

_I have to go. I'll be back in time for the wedding. Forgive me, it's something I have to do… I'll explain everything when I'll be back. I love you – Bella_

"I hope he'll forgive me," I said, running to the airport in my car.

"He will," Alice said. "He forgave me and I disappeared for two months…"

"And then you died. I really don't want to end up dead before my wedding. Again."

"I told you I saw the wedding! It's meant to be. And Edward will be there."

"And why didn't you tell me that _sooner_?"

"I have no idea of… Bella, our powers are definitely not an exact science, so please, stop bitching. And drive faster. You're the shame of the family."

Oh, the good old days when Alice couldn't talk to me. I missed them terribly.

I boarded the flight to Florence in the nick of time. I spent the following hours with Alice, whispering me all I had to know about the Volturi and Volterra, and what really happened the day she died.

"I arrived just a few seconds late. The sun hit his arm, and he started sparkling. Everyone saw it. I took Edward in the shadows, trying to convince him to run, but the Volturi were faster than us. I attacked them, and they killed me in cold blood. Bella, your mom, told me what the other ghosts in the dungeons told her… Edward never tried to escape. He stood there and waited for Aro, Caius and Marcus to get tired of their stubbornness and kill him."

"He left her because he wanted to protect her. I get that. What I don't get is why he is inflicting this punishment on himself."

"He's Edward. Enough said."

"How are we going to do this thing?"

"I told you, we have to be in Volterra. You wouldn't believe me otherwise."

"Alice… I am a vampire. I can talk with ghost. How much more open-minded do I have to be?"

"A little more?

I groaned. Great. Damn great.

"You can walk in and out of there unharmed. They won't see you... the thing is complicated, they didn't go into details. The ghosts… they hate the Volturi. They will be delighted to help you… They're the best guides you might desire."

I was suddenly happy my heart was now cold and silent. I would've died of heart failure otherwise.

Ten minutes after our arrival in Florence, I was already taking a look around for a car to steal. Alice was such a bad influence on me… still, we both couldn't believe our luck when we eyed a man getting out of a black, shiny Ferrari. He wanted to park it where it wasn't allowed, and he was having a fight with the airport police. Five seconds later, I was behind the wheel. Ten seconds later, the car and I had already disappeared. I took a deep breath, and I drove on the highway faster than light. Pity it was a car that couldn't go unnoticed anywhere, I'd have loved to have it in our garage, next to my new, beloved Camaro.

I was still wondering why on earth I was doing this. I had been a vampire for little more than eighteen months, I was getting married in a week… I was probably crazy. But inside of me I could feel a voice that kept telling me that bringing back Edward was my only way to finally make things even. The Cullens gave me everything I ever wanted, and then some. It was time for me to repay the debt.

Volterra was nice. Ancient. In another occasion I would've loved to do some sightseeing, but I immediately headed towards Palazzo dei Priori. A few meters from the entrance, I widened my eyes in fear. There was a girl… nine, ten years old maximum. Her throat was horribly slashed, and the blood stained her face and white dress.

"Don't go in there," she said pointing the door. "You have to turn left and look for a trap door."

I couldn't detach my eyes from her. "What happened to you?"

"It was my birthday. Mommy wanted to make me a surprise and took me to Volterra. They took us in a tower… we never left. We never will."

A few people passed in front of me. After I could see the palace again, the little girl was gone. I turned left, like she said, and I found a black man, covered in blood, waiting for me. Like the girl, he told me how he died. He kept repeating that he would never leave that place. All the ghosts that guided me inside repeated that line.

I asked Alice. She lowered her eyes.

"From what I understand… their deaths had been violent. They can't leave, they won't leave, until they've been avenged."

"Why are you not subjected to this rule?"

"I think it's because I'm a vampire. But really, I don't know."

I wish I knew the answer. But this thing was so new to me… and I had no idea of how could I learn more about this ability. Learning by trial and error didn't excite me, especially considering I was dealing with human souls. Once I was inside the palace, the ghosts – all covered in blood, all showing hideous teeth marks on their bodies – regrouped around me. They were at least thirty, and they were shielding me from sight. I don't know how, but it worked… I shivered in fear when I saw the little girl Alice called Jane come in my direction. I knew about her. I knew her power. I started to shiver.

The ghosts immediately made a thicker wall at my side, covering me completely. She walked past me without sensing my presence, and I couldn't believe that actually happened. That had to be what Alice meant. Somehow, the spirits could protect me. I was deeply sorry I couldn't make anything for them in return. My heart broke while listening to their stories. Lives broken in half, without hope… just a burning, rightful desire of justice. For their loved ones, they had just disappeared out of thin air. No one knew of their deaths. I couldn't even imagine the pain their families were feeling. That was why I told them that if they couldn't leave to go back home, I would do it for them. An elderly lady told me there was a room where all their personal effects were stored after their deaths; she would lead me there after I had found Edward. Slightly more relaxed now that I knew I was virtually invisible to the Volturi and their guards, I told Alice to go look for my mother and ask for directions.

Edward, we discovered, was held in the most remote cell in the dungeon. I was starting to feel claustrophobic when walking to his cell. I wondered how many meters under the town I was.

My mother was waiting for me near the door. I sighed in relief. Except Alice, she was the only spirit not covered in blood. I wished I could hug her. She was distraught. The only thing she could do was stay with him, and sometimes she had the impression he could feel her there, but most of the time he was begging for her forgiveness and hoped to die.

The wooden door wasn't a problem to open. The problem, I realized, was waiting for me inside.

Edward was… I didn't know how to describe his state. He was like he wasn't even there. He was staring at the void with a faint smile.

"He knows the verdict. He's waiting for the Volturi to kill him," my mother whispered to me.

Not if I could help it. I walked over to Edward and knelt in front of him.

"Edward, please, look at me."

He watched me with surprise, and then a smile appeared on his lips.

"It's been quick. I didn't even notice…" he said, raising a hand to my cheek. "I've waited so long to see you again, my love. Forgive me if you had to wait for me all these years. Nothing will separate us from now on."

I sighed. "Edward, if we don't move, you are really going to see your Bella in the afterlife. And believe me, she'd kick your ass and find a way to kick mine, if that should happen."

Edward frowned. I got up and pulled my face closer to his, so that he could see my golden eyes better. I tried not to look at his. They were red, like mine when I was a newborn. What the hell had happened to him?

"Bella, your eyes… I don't understand…"

"My name is Bella, but I'm not the girl you loved. I'm here to take you home. Your Bella and Alice sent me here."

"They're dead. How could they?"

"I can see ghosts. It's my power. And now, can you please stand? We have to run."

"I want to die. I wanna join her."

"She doesn't want that!" I said in frustration. My mother tried to help me convince him, but he didn't want to be saved. And then the starngest thing happened. My mother touched my shoulder while I was touching Edward… and the second after we weren't in the cell anymore. We were in their meadow. And Edward could see my mother standing next to me.

"Bella?"

My mother gave him the brightest smile, surprised, like us, about what was happening but incredibly happy at the same time. I bit my lip and gave them some time alone. I had no idea of how long this miracle would last. It was their last chance to say goodbye to each other, and they deserved it.

**Edward**

I couldn't believe the miracle that had just happened in front of my eyes. Bella, my Bella, was in front of my eyes. I could touch her, smell her intoxicating scent once again… and hear her laugh. I was sure I was dead, but she told me I wasn't. I was ashamed of my eyes, of what I had to do to survive in that place until they would decide to kill me, but she wasn't angry at me or disgusted. She was just… Bella.

"Go with her. She's come here to save you."

"I don't want to be saved. All these years… the only thing I ever wanted is to be reunited with you. And now they will finally give me what I want."

"I don't want you to die, Edward. I want you to live!"

"I can't live without you."

"You have to. You have to keep an eye on my child."

I frowned. Child? Hearing that word from Bella made me happy yet sad. It was what I wanted for her after all… living a human life, having children… but that implied that another man had the privilege to have Bella in his life. To love her. He had held her in his arms, had children with her, and that was more than enough to drive me crazy with jealousy. Bella, oblivious to my reasoning, pointed at the girl in the meadow with us. Realization dawned on me. The two could be twins… or mother and daughter.

"Her name's Bella. She's eighteen… and a Cullen. She risked her life to give us this moment. The least you can do for her is to take her home safe and sound. I'm afraid she inherited my bad luck, beside other things."

I gave a look at the younger Bella. She was looking at me and her mother, and she was beaming with satisfaction. I hugged Bella closer to me. I didn't want this moment to end. Spending the eternity with Bella in my arms was the only thing I ever asked from life, but I was so stupid to give up my chance at happiness for a life in a type of hell a thousand times worse than the one I feared was waiting for me after death.

"I'll love you forever and a day, Edward," said Bella, letting me go. "And if you love me… go. Find your way back to your family. Be happy. And live. For me."

"I started to live when I met you. You're condemning me to an endless sufferance, my beloved… but how can I refuse you anything?"

"Look for me, Edward… Like I looked for you all these years. I'll find my way back to you. Doesn't matter how or when."

I was going to reply, when I saw Bella's child looking fatigued and in distress.

"Bella… are you fine?"

"I don't know…" she replied. "I feel tired…"

Bella hugged her daughter, and like me, her child clung on to her like her life depended on it.

"I don't wanna lose you again."

"You never will. But my unfinished business is resolved now… and so is Alice's. It's time for us to go… wherever we're supposed to go. Any clues, Bella?"

"Not even one. I'll have to study harder."

"I love you. Both of you. Never forget that..."

Bella smiled at us, and a second after… she was gone. We went back in the cell, and I caught Bella before she fell on the ground. Her eyes were dark. Whatever happened, it had drained her. She needed to feed, and we both needed to run away from there.

"Wait," she whispered. "We have… we have to do something before running away."

She explained what the ghosts had told her, and what she had promised them. She talked with someone – a woman – and soon after she told me to move and follow her directions. I didn't know how, but we were walking completely unnoticed in the corridors. She needed help to walk, so I held her by her waist.

"The ghosts… they're shielding us," she explained to me. "And I'm probably shielding you. This power is completely crazy."

"You're the first I ever heard of with this ability."

"It's a Quileute thing. Mom married a Quileute named Jacob… he is a werewolf. I got lucky… no wolf gene."

"He must not be happy about your new life. Considering how much they hate vampires."

"You don't care about being disowned from a family you never belonged to," she said, with such sadness my heart ached for her. I wondered what had happened to her before becoming a vampire and how she had met my family, but now it wasn't the right moment.

We finally arrived to the room Bella wanted to see. It was an enormous storage room, filled with shelves and boxes catalogued in an elegant handwriting in chronological order. Bella had her head against me; I shivered, thinking of how many people the Volturi had killed in three thousand years of life. It was useless looking for the oldest boxes; we went straight for the more recent ones. On the labels were the countries of residence of the objects and the date of death of their owners. The accuracy, the order was… sickening. Bella listened to her ghosts and told me which boxes to take, three in total. One labeled Vancouver, Canada, 18/11/97; another one labeled Dublin, Ireland, 25/12/07, and the last one, Boston, Massachusetts, 07/06/01.

I disappeared between the shelves, looking for the boxes. Bella sat in a corner, trying to rest a little before getting out. Suddenly I heard the door opening, and a few second later Bella reached me.

"They know. We have to run."

**Bella**

The woman was insanely beautiful. Her dark skin lightly glowed at the light of the torches, her curly hair was loose on her shoulders. You couldn't help but feel intimidated. She gave me a surprised look, and only then I realized she was seeing me though my army of ghosts. She growled. I widened my eyes in fear and I immediately run to Edward. We have to go!

"They know. We have to run," I shouted to him, taking his arm and obliging to run. One of the boxes fell on the ground… I tried to take it back, but there was no time. I could hear the guards, and the voice of that mysterious female shouting orders. She could see me. How was that possible? No one saw me there!

"Take that little human thief! Immediately!"

"Right away, Milady."

I thanked God my eyes were dark and not golden. Better for me to be believed human… and good thing she didn't see the other boxes in Edward's hands. Or Edward.

I clutched one of them, and ran away with Edward. The ghosts told us where to go to exit that horrible place, but they didn't escort us. They formed a compact front to hide our escape… I looked back just once, and it was like a thick fog appeared out of nowhere in the corridor where we were. I could hear whispers, incitements to run and not look back. I could also hear that female vampire, whose name now I knew was Elissa, shouting to the guards to kill me as soon as they get me.

Once we were again in Volterra's centre, we ran to my car… and disappeared.

"How long till they…?"

"Realize I'm gone? Soon. Very soon."

"Do you know that woman?"

Edward gave me a sad smile. "Elissa. Unfortunately, yes, I do know her."

"How could she see me?"

"I don't know. She's one of the latest additions to their family. A sort of African sorceress."

"She saw me. She thought I was human, though… Good for me, I suppose."

At least for now. But since I didn't have any intention to go back to Italy anytime soon, there was a chance that the Volturi would forget about this little incident...

"Do you think we'll see them again?"

I sighed. "Alice disappeared after I got to your cell. Mom said she will try and find a way back. I… Edward, nothing would make me happier than to have her here with me, with us, forever, but…"

"But you don't know if it's possible."

"I'm sorry. All bets are off. I don't know what will happen next. What I do know, anyway, is that if I don't call home right now, Esme and Carlisle will kill me with their bare hands. And so will Rosalie and Emmett."

"And Jasper?"

I took a sad expression. "Jasper won't kill me. His disappointment will be more than enough to make me wish I was dead, though. I left a week before our wedding."

Edward was shocked. "You… you are going to marry Jasper?"

"Long story, big brother. I'll save it for the flight."

* * *

The boxes we managed to save were the ones labeled 'Ireland' and 'Massachusetts'. I still felt guilty for losing the third box, but like Edward made me realize during the flight, it was us or them. And now I'd have the chance to do some good with those objects, instead of being killed by the Volturi for my lack of respect for them and their traditions.

I couldn't believe that I had left my safe house in Vancouver just two days before. Sometimes it seemed longer… but now that the things were less crazy, I hid in the toilet, I turned my phone on, and I called Carlisle.

"Bella, where are you? What happened? Why did you run away? Give us an explanation, I beg you."

"You have no idea how much I'm happy to hear your voice again, Carlisle," I said, and I meant it.

"Bella… what happened to you?"

"Alice sent me on a quest, so to speak. I couldn't wait for you to come back. But the most important thing is that I'm coming home right now. With… a surprise that will make Esme forget why she probably wants to kill me right now. I didn't want to upset you or Jasper. I… I had to do it. I'll properly beg for your forgiveness when I'm back in Vancouver."

I told Carlisle when my plane would land at the airport, and he told me he would be there with all the family.

"I understand why you called me first," he said then. "But call Jasper as soon as we end this conversation. He was shocked not to find you at home. He needs to know you're coming back safe and sound."

"I'll make amends to him, Carlisle, I swear. See you soon."

I closed the call, and I immediately called Jasper. The relief in his voice was going to make me cry.

"Bella… Alice had a vision, now I know, and that was her reason to disappear. But… I don't understand yours."

"Don't think for a second that it's your fault. It's not. Alice ordered me to do something for her… for the family. I'm over the Atlantic right now, I'll be in Vancouver soon. And I can't wait to see you again, my love. I can't wait to be your wife. I love you so much, and I swear I'll make up to you for this."

"Hurry up. It's incredible how much I worry when you're not here with me. I feared the werewolves… it's not the first time I didn't find you and only had a weird message as an explanation."

I sighed. "God, I'm so sorry. I didn't… well, it's pretty much obvious I didn't think much of the consequences when I left."

"We all can't wait to hear your explanation. Especially Esme."

"Remember that you want me to come back, not to run away."

He laughed. "Come home, love. I'll be at the airport waiting for you."

"Can't wait. I love you."

"I love you too."

I closed the call and sighed, happy that I managed to clear things with him. I went back to Edward and sat next to him. He tried to dissimulate, but I knew he was still shocked about what had happened to him in the last hours. That place in Volterra had been his home for almost two decades, and now he had left it... I sort of knew how he felt. The reservation wasn't a dungeon, but it was my prison. Leaving that place confused me, scared me… and revealed itself to be the best decision I would ever take. It would be the same for him. I was sure of that.

"How are you, Edward? The truth. And don't try to dazzle me. Mom warned me in advance about that thing of yours."

He laughed. "I'd like to know what else Bella told you about me."

"Alice went to see her when she was pregnant with me. Since mom didn't want to end the pregnancy… well, Alice took care of giving me all the clues I needed to find the truth about my new family, because she had promised her the Cullens would take care of me. She asked mom to write a diary... she wrote everything you ever said to her in those pages."

I looked at his expression, and told him that I would give it to him to read once we were home. It was the last thing left of her, excluding myself. And he needed to know mom had forgiven him long, long time ago.

"Bella... I'm curious. When did you…?"

"Change? Eighteen months ago."

"What? You shouldn't have done this! You're too young!"

"Jasper trained me since day one. You can see for yourself… I don't have problems being so close to other people. I just have to eat properly."

"I hope you're right."

"Don't worry, I am."

* * *

My confidence faltered a little when we landed. The menace represented by Esme's wrath was something that scared even Edward. He took care of our baggage, and I preceded him to the arrival area. My –our– family was there, meddled in the crowd. The moment I saw Jasper, I ran in his arms and hugged him with all my strength. Soon after, I felt Esme taking me away from his arms to shout at me 'Don't you dare scare me like that ever again!' and then hug me fiercely. I felt Carlisle's fatherly hand on my head, I saw Rosalie waiting her turn to hug me… and then Emmett, who was tired of waiting, engulfed me and Esme in his arms, saying happily that his little sister was crazy like an horse and that he was incredibly happy that I made it home without causing a plane crash with my bad luck.

Edward was watching us cheering and laughing from behind a column. I could tell he was nervous. I bit my lip, and I told them that my explanation couldn't wait till we were home.

"Carlisle explained to us that Alice, or at least her ghost, told you to go abroad to look for something," said Rosalie. "What is this thing you had to look for?"

"Not a thing, Rose. A person. Someone that, according to Alice, couldn't miss the wedding for the world."

I made a sign to Edward to come to us, and after he had taken a deep breath, he obeyed. Everyone was staring at him like they were seeing a ghost… I had to reassure them they hadn't suddenly become like me. Edward slowly put on the ground my bag and the boxes we had stolen, and moved towards Esme and Carlisle. They both hugged him, her faces beaming with incredible joy and relief. To say that everyone was deliriously happy was an euphemism.

After greeting his long-lost brother, Jasper had to excuse himself. The emotions were too strong for him to bear. I waited a few minutes, then I reached him near the windows.

"You ok?" I said hugging him from behind.

"Yes. Sorry… too many emotions."

I kissed his shoulder. "I know. I would sleep for a week if I could."

"You couldn't even when you were human, after you discovered the truth about us."

"Right. 24 hours sounds more plausible?"

He turned to face me and hug me properly.

"I'm sorry I left you."

"You're back. That's the only thing that counts."

I kissed him and like always, we forgot about everything and everyone else around us. Well, almost everyone.

"Hey, you two!" shouted Emmett. "It's a public place! Wait till you're home to do certain things!"

We burst out laughing. Usually it was what we said to him and Rosalie… and he was really enjoying the fact that he could tell us that now.

I took a moment to watch my family. I was still fighting with the part of me that kept on mourning the loss of my mortality, but I'd had so many things in return, I didn't know where to start counting from. And now Edward was home, where he was supposed to be. I silently promised to my mother and Alice I would do my best to help him adjust. Maybe I couldn't see or talk to them anymore, but it didn't change the fact I could still feel them there. As long as we remembered them, they'd be a part of the family.

Jasper and I joined the rest of the family, and we all headed home. There were still many things Edward and I had to say and do… and I had the last-minute details to fix before the wedding!

And for once I didn't fear something would happen to ruin our happiness… We changed the finale of the story, after all. Not even mom and my's legendary bad luck could ruin such perfection.

Everybody lived, in this one. And for a change, everybody got their happy end.

Especially myself.

* * *

**So... here we are. The end. **

**Thanks to Bailey-An, DarkShadowMuffin, kagori-chan, Obsessed.with.writing, Ellie-Kitty, BrokenIsABeautifulSound, MrsxJacobXBlack, Raisins-and-Kleenex, BreeCarter, nia-ox, Kolored, for the wonderful rewiews! **

**Like I already said, this fic will have a sequel... The title will be 'The Ties That Bind', and will take place twenty years after Endless Waltz. I'll introduce a new character, Elizabeth St. John, and Bella will have to face once again her past and the werewolves in La Push, since I'm evil and all ; )**

**Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**

**-- Jade**


End file.
